Akatsuki's Sunshine
by Narutochica
Summary: Hinata Hyuga's kidnapped by Akatsuki because of her Byakugan ability. When Itachi finds himself being attracted to her tries his hardest to prevent her from distracting him from his goals. Rated M for Sexual References. ItaHina romance. I don't own Naruto
1. Chapter 1

Abduction

The sun was shining it's rays on Konoha Village as a young kunoichi awoke from a deep slumber. Her long dark hair fanned out on her shoulders and her eyes, which were of the lightest purple gleamed at the prospect of going out on another mission. Hinata Hyuuga was ready for anything. Packing an apple and a few extra kunai in her bag, she left her apartment. It had been six months since she left her old room at the Hyuuga training grounds. She was now 19 and decided to be more independent, both in missions and in daily life. Today, Team 8 had a new mission. They were to go after a rogue ninja from Kirigakure. He was currently hiding in the Land of Fire and had to be found immediately. As she came up to the village gates she noticed that her teammates Kiba Inuzuka, his dog brother Akamaru and Shino Aburame waiting patiently for her.

"Hey babe,"said Kiba with a toothy grin. He called all girls babe, so she did not mind much. Shino just nodded, as he was busy coaxing fleas out of Akamaru's coat. Being a bug-master, he collected insects a lot and was very loyal to his team. Akamaru let out a short bark and brushed at Hinata's face with his soft black nose

"Hey everyone,"Hinata called out as Kurenai-sensei dropped out of a nearby tree.

"Everyone here? Good. Lets go!"

Team 8 ran at top speed for four hours straight. As morning slipped into afternoon, the team stopped by a waterfall to rest for the day.

"WOO-HOO!"whooped Kiba as he and Akamaru went for a "walk",which consisted of swinging wildly through the trees at breakneck speed. Kurenai sighed and closed her eyes in exhaustion, wondering how Kiba and Akamaru could possibly have energy to move at all. Shino could be heard muttering under his breath something along the lines of " Damn fools gonna break their necks one of these days" before releasing his bugs for a while so they might enjoy the sunlight as well. Hinata lingered for a few minutes before setting off in search of a place where she could bathe in seclusion.

Finding a small pool that was surrounded by large rocks and a few trees, she stripped off all her clothes and realized she was sweating. Grabbing a bar of soap, she slowly entered the pool until the water reached her mid-section. She scrubbed hard at her back and cleaned out her hair. Just as she stepped out of the water, she heard a rustling sound. She paused, startled, and looked around before coming to the conclusion that the rustling must have been caused by a small mammal in the bushes. Deciding it was too hot to put back on her old clothes, Hinata instead just put on a pair of close-fitting shorts (a perverted birthday gift from Kiba and Shino) and a fishnet shirt that was commonly worn by other shinobi.

As she walked back to the small camp her team had made, she noticed a green patch of grass that was situated in the middle of a clearing. Growing inside the patch was a large bed of wildflowers. Hinata always had a soft spot for flowers and, after breathing deeply sat down. Flowers reminded her of Kiba's sister, Hana, who was a role model to her. However, there were certain flowers that reminded her of sadder things. Stroking the petals of a large rose she was kneeling in front of, she thought of how her father told her that one of her duties to the clan was to bear children as the next generation. He was trying to get her to marry another shinobi whose clan was similar to the Hyuugas. Hinata wanted love, not children, and even love seemed impossible as she gazed at the rose before her. Naruto, the one she cared about was her friend, but did not seem to care for her as much as she cared for him. Assuming that she was in complete seclusion, Hinata kissed the rose and lay down, lost in her thoughts.

Hinata, however, was oblivious of the fact that she was being watched. Hiding in one of the bushes was a young shinobi who had been following her for quite some time. Fascinated by her actions, his red eyes did not let her escape his sight. Even though he had orders from his leader to capture her, Hinata Hyuuga, it seemed, had caught his interest. Pulling back his shiny black hair he stealthily approached her, his dark robe making no sound as it rubbed against his skin.

Hinata sat up when she heard a tiny rustle. She was about to jump up a tree and sprint away but before she gathered her muscle power into her legs she felt a hard blow on the back of her head.

Just before a wave of darkness and silence engulfed her, she saw a pair of rose-red eyes looking directly into her eyes.

_Is that Sasuke?_

Hi this is my first fic so please don't be too harsh. I'm posting two chapters first, though I already wrote six chapters. This story is mostly romantic, and being a tomboy it is painful writing romantic stuff. Anyway PLEASE REVIEW! T T


	2. Chapter 2

Itachi of the Sharingan

Hinata woke up to find herself in a dark room. The surface she was on was quite soft, and cool air blew in from a vent

"Rise and shine, little miss Sunshine,"a slightly deep, yet attractive voice sounded close to her ear.

Hinata looked up to see a man standing over her. He did not look much older than her, perhaps about 23 or 24. He had a masculine face that was quite expressionless. His hair reached below his shoulders and was in a ponytail. But what intrigued Hinata the most were his eyes. They were black, as black as night, yet they also seemed to hold a light in them, like the moon. He had two lines, one on each side of his, that started from the inner corner of his eyes and, in a slant, ended at his cheeks. Though the lines, made him look tired, they also made him look more handsome than if he didn't have them.

Hinata looked back up at him.

"Where am I?"

" You are in the Akatsuki Headquarters in the Village Hidden in the Grass,"he said smoothly. As if knowing what she was going to ask next, he went on. "You have been captured because of your abilities to use the byakugan. And if you know how to cook, we would welcome that also."

Putting on an expression that made him look even more bored than before, he turned around to leave the room.

"Wait!" Hinata called out to him.

"What is it?" the man asked, looking as if he didn't care.

"Wh-what is your name?" Hinata trembled.

"My name...is Uchiha Itachi."

Hinata gasped, realizing that he was the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha and the one who wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan.

Itachi turned his head slightly to look at her.

"And by the way, Sunny, my quarters are connected to this room here. If you try to pull anything, I will know about it. As for the consequences...you might end up having to be my roommate. I am in charge of you, you know."

Hinata gasped in shock, for his eyes had turned rose-red. She recognized them as the same ones she had seen when she was knocked out earlier.

"So_ you're _the one who kidnaped me in the first place,"she hissed defiantly.

Itachi just smiled and left, closing and locking the door behind him.

Hinata sighed She needed to find a way out. _Fast._ Looking around at the room she was in, she noticed that she was on a large king-size bed with light lavender sheets and blanket. Just like her eyes. The rest of the room consisted of a wardrobe, a table, and a bathroom.

_By the looks of this, it seems I may be stuck here for a long while._

Meanwhile, Itachi was heading down the hallway to his own living space. Flopping down his bed, he thought of his actions that morning and berated himself. He hadn't expect to freeze up when he saw young woman as she was bathing. He had been captured by the welcome sight of a person so pure and innocent, different from himself and the other members of AkatsukiHe had felt..._aroused _when he first saw her. Realizing he felt a nice, tingling sensation in his lower body, he had shifted to get in a more comfortable position when his leg brushed against a low bush. Seeing Hinata look up, he ducked down even further, all the while cursing himself mentally that he, Itachi Uchiha would make so ridiculous a mistake as nearly giving away his position. The same thing happened when he had followed her to the forest clearing. He wished that she would treat him with the same tenderness that she had treated the flowers. Rolling over, he closed his eyes and scolded himself. This was no time to let a stupid kunoichi get in the way of his aspirations.

_This is it, _Hinata thought as she examined a small window in the corner of her room. She was lucky; it hadn't been locked shut. Putting a small chair under the window, she climbed on to it and slipped on to the moist, soft grass. She was about to stand up and run off when she noticed a bare foot in front of her. Looking up, she saw who foot's owner was.

Standing with his arms crossed in front of her was Itachi Uchiha.

Sorry this was so short, the next chapters will be longer. Please review. Don't FLAME!


	3. He's Always Been Down

Hello, everyone! I decided that whenever I update I'll post two chapters at a time. I also promise to finish this story (and it's sequels) even if it kills me. It's so heartbreaking to start reading a good story only to have it snatched away from you because the author couldn't be bothered to finish it. Anyway, more romance in the next chapters. And I'm sorry Itachi's so out of character.

And thanks to those who reviewed. It's nice to be encouraged to do something you love.

Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto-san's, not mine. If I did own Naruto Itachi and Deidara would both be mine.

HE'S ALWAYS BEEN "DOWN"

Hinata stared up at him, while he frowned down at her with an air of superiority.

"I have a feeling we will make excellent roommates."

"Shut up,"Hinata said back to him, in an effort to look brave.

Itachi glared at her. Hinata moved awkwardly backward until she slipped back into the room through them window. Itachi followed and they were left staring at each other.

Hinata activated her byakugan in an effort to scare him away. It had the opposite effect. Itachi walked toward her and, with one hand pinned her on the bed. Hinata made a few vain efforts to push him off her.

Hand still on her chest, Itachi leaned forward until his mouth was next to her ear.

"It'll take a lot more than that to scare me away."he whispered.

Hinata's eyes were brimming with tears as he leaned over her, his lips brushing her cheek.

"HEY,KUNOICHI!! TIME FOR DINNER!"a loud, harsh voice yelled from behind the door.

Itachi straightened up and headed for the door. Just before he left he turned around at said:

"I hope you don't mind sharing a bed...Sunshine."

Hinata lay in the same spot even after he left. She knew that would he force himself on her that night, or worse.

Itachi closed the door and headed to the dining room. He felt slightly satisfied at the fact that he had managed to strike some fear into her. He also felt a little guilty. He sat down at the table, leaned his elbows on it and covered his aching eyes in his hands. He didn't move when Kisame, Deidara and Hidan entered the room.

"Why so down, Itachi?"asked Kisame, his voice harsh as always.

"Oh, you didn't know?"asked Deidara with mischief in his eye. "Itachi has _always _been 'down,'but he's never been 'up,'if you know what I mean."

Itachi snapped on his sharingan and fixed Deidara with a steely glare.

"Okay, sorry, but Kisame is even worse. He probably doesn't have-"

It was at this point that Hinata walked into the room just as Kisame threw his sword Samehade at Deidara. Deidara ducked and Samehade (missing Hinata by inches) crashed into a wall behind her.

Without saying a word, Hinata turned around and left the room. Itachi followed her. He made sure he was far enough so she wouldn't notice him. As soon as she closed her door, Itachi stood in front of it. He faintly heard a knob squeak as she turned the faucet for the bathtub. Opening the door quietly, he turned the handle and entered the room. His orders were to be with her constantly. Not that he minded. Sighing, he sat cross-legged on the bed. He was looking forward to the look on Hinata's face when she saw him.

Hinata dried herself off and put on the clothes she found in the wardrobe. Surprisingly, they were women's clothes, the kind she wore on her days off. Looking at the shorts she was wearing, she was dismayed to see they were the same kind as the tight ones Kiba and Shino bought her. Wiping at her hair with a towel, she walked into the bedroom to see a most unwelcome sight. Itachi was waiting for her.

"Oh. Itachi. Wh-what are you doing here?"

"We _are _sharing a room, you know...and by the way, how could you be in the bath for an hour? I thought you got lost in there."

"Haha ,very funny. But why must we sleep in the same _bed_?" Hinata thought he was joking earlier.

"Well, it's a lot better than the basement." Itachi smirked. Hinata shifted position, and it was then that he noticed something black on her left arm.

"What is that on your arm?" Itachi was squinting slightly.

"What? This tattoo...I got it from when I entered the ANBU."

"Really? I was in the ANBU as well." He looked bored, but Hinata had a feeling he was trying to make conversation. He was doing it badly, but at least he was making an effort.

Swallowing her fear, Hinata walked over to the bed and clambered on top of it. Settling next to him, she asked:

"Itachi, is something wrong with your eyesight? I saw you squinting earlier."

Itachi didn't respond for a few moments. He was quite impressed that a kunoichi like Hinata could notice his weakness so easily and quickly. She had sharp eyes, even if her byakugan wasn't activated. She was definitely someone he needed to keep his eye on.

"Itachi?"Hinata wondered if he had even heard her.

"I heard you. Yes, I do have weak eyesight." He was a bit surprised when he saw a look of concern and worry on her face. Why would she be worried about a guy who knocked her out and kidnapped her?

"It's just a bit blurry."He lied, and she visibly relaxed. "It only gets a little worse when I activate my other sharingan. The mangekyou."

"Did you ever try wearing glasses?"

"My sharingan is useless behind glass lenses. It's not that big of a deal."

_He's probably too vain to wear glasses, _Hinata thought.

Hinata activated her byakugan and looked him full in the face. What she saw horrified her. There was barely any chakra leading to his eyes at all. Her eyesight without the byakugan was more than five times better than his. She then felt bad. Her vision was among the sharpest in the world, and here was a man next to her who was losing his. Hinata remembered that she always loved to watch the stars at night. Just losing the blessing of seeing the stars was almost too much for her to bear. _He lied to me. He's going blind. I'm not as good as Sakura, but maybe my medical jutsu..._

"Can I check out your eyes? All Hyugas are trained to find and fix eye problems."

"What are you, an optometrist?" Itachi said sarcastically.

"I'm qualified. Would you rather wear glasses for the rest of your life than have me help you?"

"Yeah."

Hinata reached over and cupped his face gently between her hands. Itachi did not resist, but instead stayed very still as she lightly pressed her palms over his eyes. Focusing her byakugan at the chakra nodes in his eyes, she sent forth a huge burst of chakra energy from her hands,

Itachi kept his face expressionless as she put her hands over his eyes. Being around her sedated him. He felt he could trust her. If she worried about him, even a little bit, it showed that she liked him somewhere in her heart. It was then that a blue flash obscured his vision and faded as quickly as it came. His head throbbed in excruciating pain.

Hinata heard him gasp in pain and felt him shudder. Then, in a flash he disappeared. A second later her head was yanked back, and the cold steel of a kunai was pressed against her throat.

"Trying to kill me, eh?"Itachi was behind her, and the grip he had on her hair tightened. "You will pay for this, kunoichi." He stood up and glared at her. There were so many emotions in his eyes. Anger...hurt.

"I didn't mean to hurt...Itachi, don't run away from me. Come..." she broke off as she slid off the bed and passed out. Her chakra level was low, and sleeping was the only way it could be restored.

_I wonder if he watches the stars at night_,Hinata thought as everything went dark

Itachi stormed out, locking the door behind him.He didn't even bother to put her back on the bed . It wasn't until he reached his room that he noticed something was different. His vision was no longer blurry.

Ah, another chapter ended. Don't worry, there are lots more coming up.

Itachi: _Really?_

Me: Uh huh. Why, you got a problem with that?

Itachi: Hell yeah. Why the heck am I with this chick? I'm better fitted with Sakura.

Me: Look, Weasel-boy, this is MY story, so you have no say in what goes on. Right Hinata?

Hinata: Uh, y-yes. I hope we can become friends, Itachi.

Itachi: Whatever.

Hinata looks hurt.

Itachi: I mean, I feel the same also. Okay?

Hinata:'Kay, Itachi.

Me: PLEASE REVIEW!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!(as friends, of course) . 


	4. Breakfast with the Akatsuki

Hello everyone, guess what?! I'm able to upload again on Fanfiction!

I really want to take some time to thank everyone who reviewed and read the fic. It makes me happy to have people appreciate my work. I'll be putting out chapters at a faster rate now, two a week if I'm lucky. N e way, thank you all.

Disclaimer: Sadly, Naruto does not belong to me. Yet...(just kidding!)

Itachi rushed(Ack! He actually rushed!) to his bedroom window to look out in to the forest . He could see oh-so-clearly the part where the trees met the night sky, when before he had only been able to see 200 feet in front of him, not nearly as well as a normal person could. His eyesight was sharp once again. It was then that he realized the gift that had been bestowed on him.

_Hinata..._

_I didn't mean_ _to hurt him. Honest. _Hinata was half asleep, but her thoughts focused mainly on Itachi.

_What if it didn't work? Maybe I blinded him instead of restoring his sight...he was closest thing I had to a friend here. Even though he is a mean baka . And now he left me. Jerk. _Hinata opened her eyes and realized it was morning. Sitting up, she realized she wasn't in the same position as she was before. Someone had moved her from where she had been sprawled on the floor to the bed. A blanket was pulled over her, and her head rested on a soft pillow.

_Did Itachi come back?_ She looked around the room and saw that he wasn't there. She did notice, however, that a pitcher of water and a glass were on a desk next to her bed.

Gratefully gulping down some water, Hinata then realized she was starving. She stumbled to the door(she still felt weak) and turned the handle. Surprisingly it swung open. Itachi must have left it unlocked just in case she needed something. Walking straight down the hallway Hinata opened a door to a room that was most likely a kitchen. Pots and pans hung from hooks in the walls, and an oven with a stove attachment was lounging in a far corner. Looking around in the cupboards she found only rice and 3-minute ramen packets. The fridge was a lot more promising; there was plastic bag of seaweed and and cold cuts of fish. _If I can remember anything about cooking, I may be able to make a hand-roll or something... _Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard whispering behind her.

" Y'think she gonna cook something?"

"I dunno, that's why we bought her here in the first place."

"I'm sick of ramen...yeah. "

"Shut up, ya pansy. You claim to have experience in cooking yet all you can do is boil water...and you suck at that as well!" This was the same harsh voice that called her to dinner the night before.

" Yeah, well at least I don't throw a raw fish in a bowl and call it dinner."The voice was a bit deep. As Hinata turned around she saw that the speaker was a tall man with long blond hair. Some of it was pulled up into a ponytail on top of his head. One of his eyes was covered by his hair, and his other eye was blue. It was wide and friendly, and looking at him made Hinata feel a little less scared of her situation. There man next him was also tall(way taller in fact),but seemed more shark-like in appearance. There were gills on his cheeks and his skin(and hair)was bluish. All of his teeth were shark-like. The two of them were in the doorway and, judging from the fact that they were whispering meant that they were spying on her. A third man appeared in the doorway and Hinata could see that he was shorter than the others. He looked very young. His hair was dark red and he seemed to have a drowsy look in his eyes.

"Hey you two, cut that out." The two men stopped arguing immediately. This new guy seemed very authoritative. His voice was smooth and calm, yet it also commanded respect. "Can't you two stop arguing long enough to see that the girl is watching you?"

All three men looked at her. And she looked back.

"Umm," said the blond one nervously. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves. My name is Deidara. Shark-man here is Kisame Hoshigaki. And the guy who looks young but is twice my is Sasori."

"H-hi,"Hinata returned Deidara's greeting politely.

"We were just wondering if you knew how to cook. It's one of the reasons why you were brought here." Kisame cut straight to the point.

"I'm not that good a cook, you know."

"You don't have to be a chef. What kind of meals did you cook?" This last comment came from Sasori.

"Well, because I live by myself I made only small meals. Like Instant Ramen." Hinata was a bit surprised when Deidara sat down on the floor and covered his face in his hands. Bending down, Hinata

asked him:

"What is the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong...yeah,"was the sulky reply she got back.

"Don't mind Deidara,."growled Kisame. "He's been eating ramen for the past eight years."

"I do know how to make sushi or hand-rolls. If you want."

"Thank you." Deidara fixed her with beautiful smile.

She had just finished making breakfast when Itachi walked in.

"Itachi!"Hinata realized just then how much she had been worried about him. "Where were you?"

"On a mission."Itachi sat down next to Kisame, and she noticed that his eyes were at his regular sharingan version."You cooked this?"

" Yes."Hinata was nervous. She hoped he liked it.

"It tastes nice. I like hand-rolls."

That reply of Itachi's set off a chain reaction. Sasori had a coughing fit, Kisame blew milk out his nose, and Deidara choked on a mouthful of fish.

"What is the matter with you all? Hinata, put down that pitcher."

Hinata had been pouring water into a cup. At Itachi's answer she had stared at him shock, not realizing the cup was about to overflow. Blushing she set it down, not quite meeting him in the eyes.

"Right, Sasori and I have a mission,"Deidara said, making a quick escape for the door, dragging his partner behind him. "Thanks for the food. Love it."

" Are you all divided into teams?"Hinata was curious to know.

"Yeah. Kisame's my partner."

"Oh."

Kisame got up.

"I've got to meet the leader about something. See you later."

That left Hinata and Kisame alone at the table.

"Hinata." Itachi looked at her. "Will you come with me for a moment.?"

" Sure."

"Let's go."

Before you all kill me for such a short chapter, I will repeat that the chapters will gradually become longer. I am new at this. Anyway, the later chapters will show different sides of Itachi and Hinata.

I'm also working on a new songfic with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Snow(Hey Oh)" I really need ideas about who to do it about. Anyway, please review!

Itachi:...

Me: What? What are you looking at?

Itachi: An idiot.

Me: Itachi, if you don't stop badmouthing people I may have to punish you.

Itachi: Look, kid, I'm like five years older than you. What are you gonna do, smack me upside the head? Too bad, cuz I'm taller than you.

Me: I was going to give you a kissing scene with Kisame.

Itachi...(small voice) I'll be good...

Me: Good boy.

I'm so evil. But nice as well. . 


	5. A Whole New Side

Disclaimer: Dammit, still don't own Naruto.

A Whole New Side

Itachi led her up a flight of stairs and opened a door. Peering through cautiously, she was surprised to see that they were inside a little greenhouse. Itachi walked right through the space between the plants to another door at the back. When he opened this door Hinata gasped. There was actually a garden on the roof. There were trees and everything on it. The awestruck kunoichi turned around to Itachi but he was sitting on a bench not far off.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Yes." Itachi nodded. "You healed my eyes."

"I-I'm sorry."Hinata stammered. "I did not intend to hurt you. Is the pain gone?"

"Yes. My eyes...I haven't been able to see like this for years. That is a useful talent you have."

"R-really? Thanks." The kunoichi was looked down, feeling uncomfortable under the Uchiha's gaze. She blushed in emarrassment.

Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, much in the same way a cat does whilst stalking prey. This woman seemed to blush constantly. Seeing her not blushing would have been a small miracle in itself. If he so much as looked at her she blushed. Itachi knew in the back of his mind that they were both getting way too comfortable with each other.

"Why did you do it? If I were you, I would have tried to kill me. Not that you would have won." Itachi was curious to hear her answer.

"I felt sorry for you."As soon as the words came out of her mouth Hinata knew she had said something stupid. She was right when Itachi disappeared from his bench and reappeared right in front of her.

"Look, Sunshine. _Nobody _pities me." He grabbed her tightly around the waist.

Hinata struggled feebly for a few seconds, but it was of no use. He had grabbed her so roughly and tightly that she was in pain .As a reflex she activated her byakugan. Feeling the veins pop out on her face, she glared at him. Itachi responded by activating his sharingan and giving her the same look.

Itachi was mildly impressed when he saw the look of defiance and fearlessness she fixed him with. Among all the shinobi who knew his reputation, Hinata was the only one who stood up to him. With her byakugan on, she did look capable of striking fear into the hearts of anyone who looked at her face to face. Except himself, of course.

A minute passed, and the staring contest was still going strong when Itachi, pulling Hinata closer bent down and kissed her on the lips, shocking her so much the byakugan faded away.

Hinata's initial reaction was to blush. Then she tried to struggle out of his death grip.

"It hurts,"she said through gritted teeth.

Smirking, Itachi let her go. She stared at him with big watery eyes for what seemed to last forever, then turned and ran back downstairs.

_What a pathetic little baby, _Itachi thought. _She knew she wanted it. Why the hell would she be crying?_

He followed her downstairs and went in to the kitchen. Hinata happened to be there. The second he walked in she exited through another door, but not before he saw what was in her hand.

A towel covered in blood.

Deciding not to bother with her, he made himself some Instant Ramen and went to his room. It was only when he sat down on his couch that noticed something disturbing. His fingers were also covered in blood. _I must have held her too hard...she's bleeding. _Itachi knew he had dealt a low and dirty blow, but there was no way he and the kunoichi could get closer without it distracting him from his goals. He needed her to hate him to ensure she would stay out of his way.

Hinata dabbed carefully at the deep cuts on her waist. Itachi was going to kill her, if not rape her or torture her in some way. With those assumptions firmly embedded in her head she told herself she would avoid him whenever possible. Rummaging around in the medicine cabinet she finally found the bandages she needed. Wrapping it around her waist two or three times she looked at herself in the mirror. _What is happening to me? _Hinata jumped when she heard a knock at the door. Opening it slowly, she was relieved to see that it was Sasori.

"Hi Sasori. What's up?" Hinata made a huge effort not to stammer.

"I smelled blood. Do you have an injury?"

"It's fine, really. Thank you for being concerned." She bowed slightly to him.

"One of my jobs is to take care of medical problems. Healing and natural body processes." He handed her a package. "If you have any problems, it is best to see me or Deidara."

"Um. Sasori?" Hinata bit her lip nervously. "Is Itachi going to kill me?"

The red-haired shinobi looked at her intently before answering:

"The only way he will ever kill you is if he was ordered by our leader."

Sasori noticed she relaxed very little.

"As long as you follow your orders, you will be just fine." Sasori turned around and left.

Hinata stared after him for a few moments before opening the package. Inside it were pads and pain medicine. Maybe some of these people had a nice side after all.

Dinner was uneventful. Hinata had cooked the meal but she did not come down to eat. Itachi became a little bit concerned about her. She was avoiding him, and she hadn't eaten much since she arrived. Which was why Itachi was at the moment standing in her bedroom wondering how long it would take her to notice his presence. Her back was to him, but he didn't mind. He liked watching her, even more so if she didn't know he was there. Hinata was currently combing her hair. He couldn't help but admire the way her hair shone whenever the comb ran through it. His eyes hardened again as she put down the comb and tied her hair into the Hyuga-style low ponytail. Laying down, she tugged the blanket over herself. _Time to make my move. Sorry, Hinata, but orders are orders._

Taking off his clothes until he had only his black pants on, he carefully lay down next to her. Feeling his presence, Hinata whimpered softly and scooted farther away from him. Itachi ignored her and pretended to be asleep. He waited for an hour when he finally heard her drop into a deep slumber. Only then did he let himself fall asleep.

The next morning...

Itachi kept himself very still. The kunoichi who was supposed to hate him, to _fear_ him was close. So close her head rested on his shoulder, her right arm on his chest. What shocked him the most was that he enjoyed it. He kept his eyes shut, lest she wake up.

One hour later...

Hinata woke up to find herself embracing Itachi. Ashamed to catch herself hugging her captor, she inched away from him until she slid off the bed. Seeking sanctuary in the bathroom, Hinata thought about her feelings for Itachi. She knew that caring about him in any way would be like betraying Konoha. Yet she could forget the feeling of being near him. But he also hurt her.Hinata knew she would never forget that.

Hey everyone, I'll be putting out a couple more chapters later this week. The reason why I'm taking out chapters this fast is because I wrote a whole bunch before uploading them on to the site. I'm already five, six chapters ahead of this. Anyway, thank you all so much! And please review.

Narutochica : )


	6. Pathetic

Warning: This chapter contains something similar to torture.

Disclaimer: sniff still do not own Naruto.

Pathetic

Breakfast was a quiet affair. The only ones speaking were Deidara and Kisame, the both of them arguing over possession of the last piece of takoyaki. In the end, they decided to resolve the conflict with a thumb wrestling match. Just as Kisame was winning, Sasori walked past and, spearing the said piece of takoyaki on his chopstick devoured it without a hint of guilt. The three of them were acting as greedy as Chouji.

"Fools,"he said patting daintily at his lips with a napkin.

Itachi had closed his eyes, seemingly trying to block out his colleagues. Hinata smirked as she watched her friends(yes, she now considered those three friends) and glanced over at Itachi. She didn't know she was staring at him until he opened his eyes and gazed right back at her, causing her to flinch and look away. As much as Hinata tried liking Itachi, she found found herself getting more attached to Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame.

"Hinata"

Itachi's voice sounded like death itself, but Hinata knew she could not ignore him forever. Her waist ached whenever she thought of how he had wounded her.

"Y-yes, Itachi?" Itachi could tell she was nervous. The girl was blushing like mad.

"We decided that we would start your training as soon as possible"

"Training?"

"Yes. Training." He raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to object.

When Hinata didn't reply, he took it as a cue to go on.

"You will be trained in speed, chakra concentration and offense, and defense. Deidara will teach you in speed, Kisame in chakra and offense, and me in defense. Got that?"

"Hai."

"Chakra and offense will come later, so only Deidara and I will be teaching you for now."

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, we might as well start now!" Deidara jumped over to Hinata and, taking her gently by the hand led her away, all the while grinning happily. Hinata found herself giggling as they went to the outside training grounds.

As he watched Deidara lead her off Itachi's eyes hardened a bit. She was comfortable laughing with Deidara, yet she never laughed around him, though he knew her longer. Itachi decided to clear his mind when he realized he was squeezing his chopsticks so hard they were about to snap. There was no way he could get himself distracted, especially by a kunoichi with no skills.

Meanwhile Deidara was giving his new pupil a drill about the lesson.

"Okay, Hinata, the object is to dodge everything I throw at you...yeah." Hinata noticed he was rummaging in his pack.

"Deidara?"

"Hm?"

"Exactly _what_ are you going to throw at me? My byakugan cannot see any weapons on you". Deidara just grinned and held up what looked like a piece of clay. "Watch"

Holding out the palm of his hand, Hinata gasped as a mouth appeared in it. Dropping the clay in it, the mouth began to chew and spat out a miniature statue of a bird.

"It's beautiful!" Hinata blushed when she realized she had said it without thinking.

Deidara gave her another million-dollar smile.

"I see that there is at least one person who appreciates true art. The true piece of art is made on the spur of the moment, radiating with beauty and disappearing as fast as it came into existence, like a shooting sta-"He broke off as he noticed her looking at him, trying her best to hide a smile. He started blushing. "Eh, sorry for rambling on like that. The point is that these statues are bombs. They explode whenever I want them to."

"So you'll be tossing explosives at me." Hinata gulped.

"Precisely," Deidara gave her a nice guy pose, similar to that of Lee's to the point that his teeth glinted in the early morning sun. "You ready? Remember, this is about speed.."

"Byakugan!" Hinata felt the veins pop out on her face and replied: "Of course"

" All right! Yeah! "

A huge boom filled the room and Hinata found herself looking at an enormous version of the clay bird he had in his hands only seconds ago. Launching himself aboard the clay bird he made it hover about fifteen feet above her head. Hinata dodged the first bomb he threw with ease. The second landed so close to her she was thrown off her feet. The third she swiftly skidded away from it, and the fourth she shielded herself from with her chakra rotation. At one point she managed to knock a bomb back at Deidara, who was nearly blown into the air.

This went on for an hour before Deidara ran out of clay.

"Huh. So you actually almost made it, yeah "He said, ruffling her hair in an almost affectionate way. "Well, it's not over yet!"

The kunoichi turned around to see the giant clay bird diving toward her, the outer layers of clay crumpling off the head due to the speed at which it was going. _Oh. Shit. That thing's a meteor! _

Almost as a reflex she rotated, releasing chakra from every part of her body. Through the chakra wall she felt a tremor that gradually died.

There were two things she noticed as she stopped spinning. One was that she was standing in what seemed to be a huge crater . The second was Deidara, sitting in a tree not far off. He was grinning broadly. " Well, I'm impressed you managed to survive that. And that was one of my best bombs as well. "

Hinata was too out of breath to say anything;she fell on her knees in response. _So even that bird of his was a bomb. I-I'm gonna k-kill him for that. _

Deidara smirked as his pupil gave him a death glare.

"Look, kid" He bent down and picked her up, one arm under her legs and the other against her back. "You still have more practice for today, okay? You can rest for a few hours." Laying her on her bed, he closed the door carefully and tiptoed away.

Hinata stayed still a moment, then took a small silver bell out of her pocket. Nipping her thumb she quickly wiped some blood on it. "Kuchiyose no Justu!(Summoning jutsu) River otter Rin-chan!"

A silver-blue otter with deep lavender eyes appeared in a puff of smoke. She wore a chainlike earring with a bell on the end and was wearing a blue Chinese-style shirt with short sleeves. Two katanas with bells tied to the hilts were strapped across her back. She stood up on her hind legs and, being over 7 feet tall whenever she did that loomed over Hinata.

" What is this!?" she asked, turning her large head this way and that.

"Sh! I was kidnaped by the Akatsuki. They want me to join them,"Hinata whispered in her friend's ear.

"I want you to stay with me during my next training session. I feel as if something bad's going to happen. Don't do anything unless I say so. I don't want you to get hurt."

Rin's eyes widened. " They're _training _you? Hina, you really should let me tell your leader about this."

Hinata should her head regretfully. " These guys will kill anyone coming to rescue me. I don't want to be in the way"

"But you'll become a missing-nin, to be hunted down!"

" Rin-chan I have already made my decision."

"So be it."

Hinata smiled and scratched her summon behind the ears. She followed Deidara's advice and slept for a while. Rin curled up on the carpet and kept her eyes trained on the door.

When Itachi knocked on her door to tell her it was time, she forced herself to get up. Making sure to walk behind so as not to alert him of her nervousness Hinata told herself to toughen up. Not that it worked. Rin padded along silently by her mistress's side. Itachi hadn't said anything when he saw the summon. He merely glanced at Rin and continued walking.

They arrived at the training grounds and she was once again drilled on what she was expected to do.

"The object of this exercise is evade and block all my attacks. Think you can manage it?" Itachi smirked mockingly, and his red eyes hardened. "And I don't give a shit if I end up killing you."

Without warning Itachi tried for a blow to the head. The punched connected and Hinata was sent reeling backwards, the side of her head throbbing painfully. Without a pause he aimed a kick at her ribs.

Hinata stepped back in an effort to dodge it but instead of hitting his original target Itachi redirected his kick to connect with her bandaged waist, forcing her to the ground.

The Leaf ninja got right back on her feet and shifted in to the Hyuuga fighting stance. As the Akatsuki threw several shuriken and kunai at her she did her rotation again. Then...

"Eight trigrams 64 palms!" Hinata spun and, concentrating chakra to her fingertips tried to jab

at the Uchiha as swiftly as her cousin Neji would have done. Itachi dodged effortlessly, and in one fluid movement too fast for the eye to see he kicked her directly in the chest.

Itachi watched coldly as the kunoichi fell forward on her knees, trying to hold back a cry of pain. Kneeling in front of her, he whispered:

"You are even more pathetic than my little brother. I even went easy on you, you miserable wretch."

Hinata could barely hear his words, her pain was too great. Suddenly, Itachi disappeared. A second later her head was wrenched backward, and her right arm yanked behind her back.

"You are a weakling. You are not worth my time." His icy voice penetrated her mind, and she realized how true his words were.

"Itachi...let go of me." Hinata's throat was dry, and her head was aching. She coughed up blood.

He responded by pulling even harder on her arm. Hinata could feel the muscles in her arm being ripped, torn apart. The pain was excruciating.

_I don't care about her. I will prove that to everyone and myself by hurting her. By killing her even. _

"Itachi...don't!" Hinata heard small, snapping sounds. Tendons.

At the sound of her voice Itachi pulled even harder than before. If the pain was bad before, it was tens times worse now. Hinata activated her byakugan and saw Itachi's face behind her, his eyes full of pure rage. Her pleading cries escalated into wild screaming. Hinata did not stop screaming, not even when Deidara and Sasori appeared in the doorway. The screams did not stop when Deidara punched Itachi in the cheek, loosening Itachi's grip on her. Not even when Deidara stabbed him in the arm with a dagger. Rin, seeing red and not remembering she had weapons with her resorted to basic instinct and sank her canines into the Uchiha's leg. She only stopped screaming when she heard a loud crack.

The entire room fell silent.

Noticing Itachi had released her Hinata looked down at her arm.

It hung useless at her side. Her byakugan could see that it had been broken and pulled out of it's socket.

Hinata was speechless. She no longer noticed the tears streaming down her face. Deidara picked her up.

"She's in shock,"he whispered to Sasori.

Rin let out a distressed squeak and followed the blond.

As they carried her away the last thing Hinata saw before slipping into unconsciousness was the look of hatred in Itachi's eyes.

This was a particularly difficult chapter for me to write. I wanted to be sure that there would be an even deeper plot to the story than just being HinaItachi. Anyway, please review. The next chapters will leave you satisfied.

Thanks everyone,

Narutochica


	7. Full Moon

Full Moon

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Naruto. Kishimoto-san does.

"Hey. Hinata? You ought to wake up now."

Hinata opened her eyes and saw Sasori standing over her with a concerned look on his face.

"Sasori? Where am I?" Hinata's eyes were too blurry to take in the rest of her surroundings. Leaning on her elbow she sat up. Strong hands held her back up, and she looked up to see Deidara.

"We're in your room. You've been asleep for four days straight. Your summon couldn't stay for long."

Hinata froze. She'd been out cold for _that _long? At least Rin was all right.

"How are you feeling? I was worried about you, you know. " Deidara's voice was solemn for the first time since she had met him. Hinata blushed. It was a bit comforting to know that someone cared about her, even if it was one of her captors.

"I'm all right, Deidara." Almost hesitantly she hugged him. Deidara's eyes widened in surprise, but he returned the hug with a small smile on his face. " Thanks for defending me. Itachi was right...I am weak."

"Sh. Don't say that! He was just too hard on you. Do not think too bad of Itachi. He has his own ways of expressing his feelings. You'll be able to kick his ass in no time. Yeah."

Hinata had no idea what he was talking about, but all she knew was that Deidara was her closest friend here. He inspired her, like Naruto did.

"Now, I'll leave you to talk to Sasori. I'll see you later." He smiled warmly and left.

Hinata did not realize she was staring after him until Sasori cleared his throat loud enough to fill the entire room. Turning her attention to him, she wondered how on earth such a quiet man could make that big a noise.

"Does your arm feel better?"

Hinata noticed for the first time that her arm was almost healed.

"Sasori...you did this for me? Thank you." Hinata felt bad for not thanking him earlier.

"It's my job. Anyway, your muscles were torn in several places and your shoulder was dislocated. Your arm will need a bit more healing every day, but you will make a full recovery within a week. Or two. I also left an ointment in your bathroom. You must apply it twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening."

"Oh." Hinata was silent for a moment.

"Sasori? Does Itachi hate me?"

For the first time Sasori actually smiled at her.

"That is not in my power to answer. All I know is that Itachi is virtually impossible to read. You will need to find that out yourself." Sasori exited the room.

Hinata carefully touched her shoulder and was surprised to feel only a dull pain. It was when she felt it that she noticed how much she was sweating. She quickly took off her outer clothes and left on a fishnet shirt and shorts. Still sweating, Hinata decided she needed some fresh air. Putting on a light lavender kimono and tying the obi loosely around her waist she made her way to the roof. The greenhouse in which she entered was quiet, and the fragile flowers inside it swayed gently. Looking back at the darkness of the stairway behind her Hinata opened the greenhouse door and stepped out in to the rooftop garden, where the larger plants were kept. Leaning over the balcony she felt a cool gust of wind sweep over her face. Closing her eyes Hinata thought about her nice little apartment in Konoha Village. Her bright, cheery bedroom with windows that had curtains with flower patterns and the photos of her friends and family. The wind was blowing a little more strongly than before and the obi loosened a bit. Hinata's eyes were still closed. _Friends...family_.

Hinata knew her friends would be worried. She could imagine Kiba and Akamaru raging through Konoha Forest in search of her, no doubt uprooting dozens of trees in their mad pursuit. Shino would be more calm, sending his tracking insects out and acting as if he weren't worried, though Hinata knew he would be staying up late every night, pacing around his room until he fell asleep. He had done that the night after the chunin exams when she was in the hospital recovering from her fight with Neji, Kiba told her. Kurenai, the mother she never had... Kurenai was a bit strict at times, but she would be out searching for her every day. Hinata doubted that her family even tried looking for her. Neji, who became a close friend and confidant may have looked for her, Hanabi hated her so she was out of the question and as for Hiashi... he may have wept tears of joy and did flips around his office for all she knew. All the more reason to make Hanabi the heiress to the Hyuuga Clan.

Hinata looked at the moon. It wasn't full, yet the crescent glowed vividly in the night. The stars danced around it, winking out and then reappearing at times. _It's so unfair... _She dug her nails into her palms.

It was only when a gust of wind completely loosened the knot on her obi that Hinata realized she was crying. Wiping the tears off with her sleeve she told herself to stop acting like a baby. Feeling ashamed she was about to retie the obi when a voice called out from behind her:

"Hinata. What are you doing out here?" It was Itachi, wearing his usual Akatsuki robe. The robe was unbuttoned, exposing his chest under his mesh. At least she now had a real reason to cry...

"I'm howling at the full moon, baka, whaddaya think?!" Hinata spat back, feeling an anger she had never felt before.

If Itachi was shocked at her uncharacteristic outburst he never showed it.

"First of all, it is a half moon, second, you can come up with a better insult than baka, and third, I believe you are crying."

Hinata did not look him directly in the eyes.

"Don't talk to me, Itachi. I do not even want to see you." She turned around and faced the balcony once again, determined to save even a little bit of her dignity by not letting him see the tears still on her face.

A warm breath on her neck told Hinata that Itachi was right behind her.

"Too bad. I guess you'll have to now." Itachi was speaking patiently. He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. Hinata shivered and shut her eyes at his touch.

"Relax. I won't hurt you." Itachi said, as if sensing her discomfort.

Hinata gasped as he started pulling off the kimono. She opened her eyes when she noticed he had pulled the cloth off far enough just to see the bruises and the ugly scar he had left on her shoulder. He stood looking at it for a minute then lightly brushed his fingers over the wounds. Itachi stopped when he heard Hinata's sharp intake of breath.

Hinata couldn't take it anymore.

"I hope you are satisfied with your handiwork. Unless you want to rip off my other arm,"she muttered under her breath and walking around the Uchiha headed back to the greenhouse.

Like Itachi would let her escape that easily.

One second she was turning the knob of the greenhouse door, the next she was in Itachi's arms.

He carried her over to a tree and sat down, leaning his back against the trunk. Before she could protest he pulled Hinata into a sitting position between his legs(stop thinking that way, perverts!) and pressed her back against his chest.

Hinata turned her head to glare at him but didn't say a word. Itachi didn't say anything either; instead he clasped his hands around her waist almost possesively.

"I hurt you, didn't I?" He said in a low voice. Hinata thought before she answered:

"I-it doesn't matter now. I hate you."

"Hn." Itachi really did not sound like he cared what she thought of him. Changing the subject he asked her:

"What were you crying about?"

"Like you care. You r-really are heartless."

"Just answer me."

"What does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't. Just tell me." The eldest Uchiha sounded impatient.

Hinata was startled.

"I just miss my home, that's all."

"Anything else? Is it about someone you care about? Like me?" he whispered in her ear.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Itachi smirked. Activating his sharingan he asked:

"Then why are you blushing?"

Hinata had no answer for that one.

"Well, Hinata it's about time you went to sleep." With that he tapped her on the back of her head, sending a small jolt of chakra into it that made her fall asleep.

Itachi looked down at the girl in his arms. She looked so peaceful and innocent; the exact opposite of himself. He absently stroked her belly.

"Mm, Itachi, do that again." Hinata was moaning in her sleep.

Itachi looked down at her, confused. But a little experiment wouldn't hurt.

"Did that feel good?" He asked in a low, smooth voice.

Hinata nodded against his chest. "Please...do it again, for me?"

Itachi cracked a smile(!) It was obvious that she was dreaming about him. And enjoying him immensely, by the sound of it.

He stroked her again. Hinata blushed. "Itachi, it tickles!"

Itachi couldn't resist. Leaning forward he kissed her on the neck.

"That feels nice." Hinata's voice was soft and loving, a voice which Itachi knew she would never use on him. The next words out of her mouth made him freeze.

"Please stay with me..."

Deidara crouched on the roof of the greenhouse, watching what was going on with satisfaction.

_Flashback_

_Itachi was in his room, running a finger over the edge of a kunai, not even flinching when he slit himself. He sat there, watching the blood stream slowly down his hand. His blood. Hinata's blood. His thoughts were interrupted when a knock sounded at his door. _

"_Come in."_

_Deidara strode in, an unusually serious look on his face._

"_If you're here to talk about that pathetic kunoichi you can just leave." Itachi gripped the blade of his kunai tighter. Blood trickled out the corners of his hands as he fought with the pain._

"_Itachi, you may have taught me some fighting skills but it's obvious you need some lessons in people skills, yeah." Deidara looked the older Akatsuki dead in the eyes._

" _You actually dare to say that to me?" Itachi's eyes narrowed._

" _She's been unconscious for nearly four days. What were you thinking?"_

" _Is it any of your business?"_

" _Yes! First of all, she's my student and second of all, she's a KID! You don't try to cripple a kid!" Deidara was looking at him with fury in his eyes. _

" _Hinata is an adult, you know. She's 18, that pathetic kunoichi should be able to defend herself. She's my student as well ,don't forget." Itachi was now gripping the kunai harder than ever._

_Deidara looked at him, disbelief in his eyes._

" _You don't get it, do you? You should be nicer to her." He stood up and walked away, managing to catch the kunai before it hit him in the back._

Yay! Another chapter done! The chapter after the next will be the longest I've ever written, so I have to get to typing! T.T By the way, in case you're wondering, Hinata is 18, Itachi is 23, Deidara is 21.

Anyway's, thanks once again to all those who read my story and reviewed. The next chapter will be out soon. Thanks again,

Narutochica


	8. Not your Toy

I really liked the reviews I got. I know, Itachi was a bit sick in the chapter before last, but as Deidara said, Itachi has his own way of expressing and suppressing his feelings.(Yeah, that was corny)

By the way, "Rin" means "bell", which explains why Rin is summoned with a bell and has them on her weapons. If anybody is wondering why Hinata has an otter for a summon, there is a perfectly logical reason for that. I'll tell you in the next chapter. Just sleep on it :3

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. But Rin-chan does.

Not your Toy

" _Please stay with me..."_

Those words kept replaying themselves in his head as Itachi carried Hinata (still sleeping) back to the room they shared. The woman was asleep when she said it but coming from her, it sounded so sincere. For all he knew, she was dreaming about him only because he was the last person she saw before falling asleep. _Stop flattering yourself, he thought. _The kunoichi probably wanted to kill him for all that he had done. He watched her face for a moment, deep in thought.

Seeing that she was already in sleeping clothes Itachi didn't bother to change her but instead laid her on one side of the bed. He was about to enter the bathroom for a shower when a small book on the bedside table caught his eye. Curious, he opened it to see that it was a photo album.

The first page showed a picture of what must have been her team. It was dated six years ago. There were four people in the picture. The tallest was a young woman with dark grayish-black hair and red eyes. Itachi remembered her as Kurenai Yuhi. In front of her stood three children. The boy on her left side wore a jacket with a high collar and dark glasses, a butterfly perched on his shoulder. An Aburame, most likely. The boy on her right side had red tattoos on his cheeks that looked like fangs. His brown hair was bushy, and in his arms was a small white puppy. An Inuzuka. He let his eyes linger on the twelve-year old girl in the middle that he knew to be Hinata. She had a slight blush on her cheeks and was smiling shyly.

Flipping the page he saw there was another picture of Hinata and her teammate, this time without Kurenai and the Aburame. Her arm was around the shoulders of the Inuzuka boy, while a large dog lay at their feet. The picture across from that one showed Hinata and the Aburame sitting down in a field of flowers, surrounded by butterflies. There was a butterfly on Hinata's head.

The next picture was one of her looking out at the sunset, a young otter cradled in her arms. The sunset shone off her dark bluish hair, making it shine silver in some places. Her expression was calm and dreamy. She looked no more than fourteen .Itachi gazed at it for a long time before noticing there was one more picture, perhaps the most recent.

This time Hinata was in the uniform that only ANBU wear. There was a katana strapped across her back, and a mask hanging around her neck. He smiled to himself. It was a weasel mask.(Itachi means weasel) Her hair, he noticed was short, reaching her jawline. She was not wearing the usual arm guards, leaving her arms exposed. She looked a bit muscular, he noted.

"Hinata." Itachi looked up at the girl who had just woken up.

"Itachi."Hinata seemed nervous. "Do you like the pictures?"

Itachi did not answer right away. Common sense was telling him to just kill her to get her out of his way, yet he couldn't bring himself to do that. Swallowing the tiny amount of guilt he had, he gave her as friendly a reply as he had ever given.

"Hn. They're alright. So, why did you become an ANBU? It's one of the most annoying jobs ever."

Hinata looked down at her hands, which were squeezing the blanket. "I knew a guy many years ago who was an ANBU leader. He was only a few years older than me."

Itachi looked up, seemingly interested. "Really? What was his name?"

Hinata looked away from him, her eyes moist. "I never found out."

"You don't remember anything? What about his clan?" Itachi had gotten up from the table and was now sitting on the bed next to her.

Hinata gave him a look. It held feelings of hate and longing at the same time.

"It doesn't matter now." _Because my Shisui is dead..._

_Flashback_

_It was a hot summer morning. An eight-year old Hinata Hyuga held tightly to her father's hand as he spoke to a tall man with dark hair and even darker eyes. There was a boy next to him; perhaps a teenager. He had a pretty bored look on his face. The dark haired man addressed her directly, and she looked down shyly._

"_Hello, Hinata._ _My name is Uchiha Fugaku. Your father and need to discuss something, so why don't I get one of my relatives to keep you company."_

"_O-okay. Thank you Uchiha-sama." _

_Fugaku turned to the kid next to him and whispered into his ear. The boy nodded_ _and took Hinata's hand._

"_Come on,Hyuuga-sama. What do you want to do?" The boy did his best to smile at her._

"_I-I don't know."_

"_Well, do you have ninja training?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_Well, I'll show you what sort of things the ANBU does. Is that alright with you?" _

"_It is, sir."_

_The boy kneeled until he was at Hinata's level. "Do not call me 'sir'. That is for old men. Just call me - " It was at this point that the fountain turned on, drowning out his last words in the noise it created. Hinata didn't catch his name, but was too shy to ask him to repeat._

_The boy led her to a small filled with all sorts of weapons. A uniform was hung up on one side, and a mask was on a peg next to it. _

"_What is that?" Hinata was pointing at the katana leaning on the stand._

"_It's called a katana. A type of sword. Here. Try lifting it up."_

_Hinata could only lift it for one second before the weight dragged her back down. She turned around to see the boy smirking. Hinata glared at him for a moment, then slowly began to laugh herself. _

"_I really can't see you getting in to ANBU" he said grinning._

_Hinata smiled back. "Well, that's what I want to be when I grow up."_

"_Why?"_

"_So I could prove to you that I can do it." _

_The boy looked at her silently for a moment. "All right then. Lets shake on it."_

_They shook hands( it was more like his hand covered hers and shook it) and stood looking at each other. The boy broke the silence._

"_Do you want me to show you the rest of my stuff?"_

_Blushing, Hinata nodded. They spent the rest of the day talking about the types of missions A and the types of weapons he had. And strangely enough she enjoyed it._

_A week later..._

"_Can I please hang out with you nii-san?" Hinata pleaded._

" _I already played with you-again- yesterday. I have a mission." The boy rolled his eyes._

"_Oh. I just... I-I wanted to be with you again." Tears dropped onto her shirt, though she made an effort to hold them back._

_In the background, someone called out: "Shisui, all of you, come on, the meeting's in a little while"_

"_Hyuga-sama, I'll see you again sometime. All right? Don't worry." Giving her a quick hug he escorted her home and left._

_Huh, so Shisui is his name, Hinata thought. It sounds pretty..._

_A few days afterward Hinata woke up to the sound of voices downstairs. Slipping on a robe she pattered downstairs to listen._

"_All of the Uchihas are dead, except for the youngest." Hinata heard her father say to an elder at the kitchen table. _

_Unable to keep quiet, she blurted out:_

"_Even Uchiha-san and Shisui?" _

_Hiashi narrowed his eyes at her for speaking but said in a softer tone:_

"_All are gone, except for your little friend Sasuke."_

"_Oh"_

_That morning Hinata walked to the Uchiha mansion. Sasuke was just leaving, his head down. Crawling through a hole in the fence Hinata made her way to the weaponry room, taking care to avoid the main house where Sasuke lived. The room was silent; it felt dead and scary to her. The ANBU mask was still on it's peg. Hinata stood on tiptoe and took it down. Placing it gently in her pack she snuck back through the hole and to her room. All she had left of her first and only friend was his mask. _

_Hinata stayed in her room for a long time._

"_Shisui..."_

_End of Flashback_

Itachi was silent when she told him the story. Hinata had purposely left out the fact that her friend was one of the Uchihas Itachi had murdered. She knew from his silence that he had figured out for himself which family she was talking about.

"At least you kept your promise to him." he said quietly.

"I guess you're r- wait a second! I never told you about that! How did you kn- "

"Goodnight Hinata." Itachi took off his outer shirt and lay down, annoying an already confused Hinata.

"Wait! I was asking you something, why do you suddenly want to fall asleep just when I asked that?"

"Goodnight Hinata. Be quiet and go to sleep." With that he took all the blanket and, leaving not one bit for Hinata wrapped himself in it and pretended to go to sleep.

"Itachi you selfish pig!" Hinata balled her fists and pounded on his back. She was aware of Itachi smirking at her actions. He seemed to enjoy the fact that he made Hinata Hyuuga of all people snap.

"Stop smirking at me! You can at least share some blanket!"

"Hell no."

Hinata began to push against him. If he wasn't going to cooperate she would roll him off the bed.

Surprisingly she managed to push him to the edge. Just when she shoved him over Hinata found herself on the floor. Itachi was still on the bed.

"Remember the Art of Substitution?" Itachi peered over the edge and poked her on the forehead.

Hinata scrambled back on the bed.

"I hate you."

"Oh, really? I highly doubt that." He watched as she stretched out, her head on the pillow. "Well, Hinata, let's see if you can resist this."

Hinata yelped as Itachi began tickling her sides. To her own horror she found herself blushing and laughing at the same time.

"Itachi, don't, please!" Hinata was still laughing. Itachi stopped. "Do you want me to do it again?"

"NO!"

Itachi continued where he left off.

"Itachi you baka, I will KILL YOU!"

"Why kill me when you love me?"

"I don't, you mumph!?"

Itachi had put his lips over hers in a kiss. Hinata (blushing like an idiot) pulled back and turned around facing away from him. "I'm not your toy," she said putting her head back on her pillow. She inched farther away from him.

Itachi only smirked and draped half of the blanket over her before falling asleep himself.

_You're too good for that, Hinata..._

Hello, and once again thanks for the wonderful reviews. I want to clear up any confusion, just in case you're not familiar with who Shisui Uchiha is. He is a cousin of Itachi who happened to be his closest friend. Itachi killed him in order to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan. Shisui was actually murdered a day or two before the other Uchihas were killed, but Hinata did not know that.

Please review! Any advice is also welcome, because I don't feel very satisfied with how I explain things in the story. Anyway, thanks again,

Narutochica T.T


	9. A New Home

Thanks so much for the reviews, they really make this humble girl burst with happiness T.T

This chapter contains abuse, as told in a flashback.

Sexual abuse, or any kind of abuse is a serious problem, and it should never be thought of as 'minor' or 'right' or any of that crap. I will forever look down on those who don't care about this issue, because abuse can happen to any person, even you. If you are a highschool student like I am, you should know that in every school, there is one kid or more who has been abused like this. I don't write about it much in this chapter, but it was very difficult to write about it at all. Anyway, on with the story.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Itachi and Deidara aren't either, but I wish they were. T T

They belong to Kishimoto-san.(who rocks!)

**A New Home**

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. We're moving today." Hinata sat up, rubbing at her eyes. Itachi was sitting on the edge of the bed, painting his nails purple.

"M-moving? Why?"

Itachi blew on his nails.

"We have to go farther away from your village. We'll be leaving in an hour, so get ready and pack." He left the room.

Hinata looked down at her hands, lost in thought. Her chances of going home again had reduced to zero. She had no choice but to go with the Akatsuki.

She quickly packed the clothes from in the wardrobe(including the kimono and a bathing suit that was already in there) and stood in front of her full-length mirror, wondering what to wear. She finally decided on a white tank top and blue jeans with a silver floral pattern on the left thigh. As for her hair, Hinata chose to keep it in a long braid. Just as she was tying a ribbon on the end to keep it from coming loose Itachi came in.

Itachi stood there, speechless. Never before had he seen her dressed like this before. Most of the time she wore baggy clothes but this time, she looked way more attractive.

"Are you ready?"Itachi had found his voice again. "If you are, then come on."

Hinata hefted her rucksack over her shoulder and looked over at the Uchiha. "Where are we going?"

Itachi didn't even turn around as he walked out. "Hn." _He's just like Sasuke. Never a straight answer._

The others were waiting for them as soon as they walked out. Deidara looked especially happy to see her. "You all right, yeah?" he asked as he walked alongside her. Hinata looked up at him and smiled, grateful that he cared for her well-being. He was like an older brother."I'm better now. Thanks for asking."

"Hurry up, you two. At the pace you are going a five-hour journey could take five years." It was Itachi, who was ahead of them. As he turned his head to look back at them Hinata noticed a strange look in his eyes. _Is it anger? Or jealousy?_ Hinata couldn't quite place it, but it wasn't hard to identify a bit of nastiness. Deidara noticed the look also. "Is there a problem? You look like you have a stick up your butt, yeah."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I'd watch what I say if I were you, bastard"

"Oh, and what if I don't?"Deidara's usually kind eye(she never saw his other, as it was hidden behind his hair. Not to mention that there was a scope-like device kept over it) was filled with anger and rage. She had never seen Deidara like this before. Itachi unsheathed a long dagger that hung around his waist. "How about I kill you instead?"Itachi's voice was cold and emotionless. Deidara took out a piece of clay.

Thinking fast Hinata darted between the two men before they could start fighting.

"Please, don't hurt Deidara!" Her voice was no more than a whisper, but Itachi heard her. He glared down at the kunoichi, who boldly looked back at him without a hint of fear.

"Hn" was all he said before going ahead.

Deidara turned to Hinata. "Don't worry about him. We end up fighting at least twice a month these days, but we're sort of friends. He's just annoyed. He thinks I'm trying to make a move on you."

"Why?" Hinata asked, eyes wide.

"No idea. He doesn't even believe I have a girlfriend."

"You have a _girlfriend_?" Hinata grinned.

"Perfect. Even you sound surprised. I really should pay her a visit soon. She threatened to hunt me down if I didn't. Anyway, we'd better catch up."

Hinata leaped into the trees behind Deidara and followed him, all the while wondering what changed Itachi. The cold man had always(mockingly)called her Sunshine. Yet, he recently began calling her by her name. She noticed that Deidara had gone farther ahead to travel beside Sasori. Itachi was now to the right and slightly behind of her. Doing her best to ignore him she activated her byakugan to keep Deidara, Kisame and Sasori in view. She was unwilling to be alone with the missing-nin. For all she knew Itachi wanted to kill her for interrupting his fight with the former Rock ninja.

Itachi followed Hinata's every step, to the point that they even landed on the same branch simultaneously at times. He made it clear that he was ignoring her while at the same time making sure she knew he would prevent her from escaping. He thought back to the afternoon several days ago when he had attempted to kill her in the most painful way imaginable: through gradually breaking every bone in her body before finishing her off. What really confused him was the fact that he had held himself back.

All he knew was that the foreign forces inside him were making it difficult for him to wipe the kunoichi out of his life.

Hinata stopped to catch her breath. The journey was burning up all her energy. _I wouldn't be in this situation if I was able to keep up with my training schedule... _

"What's wrong now?" asked Itachi, sounding unusually patient. Hinata looked at the Uchiha. He was looking down at her with an almost concerned expression on his face. He reached over as if to touch her. As she flinched away from him she noticed a hurt look(at least she thought it was one) cross his face before it made way for his usual bored expression.

"I-I'm fine. I c-can go on ." _He looks down on me so much. As if I'm too weak to be of any use..._

Itachi rolled his eyes as the young woman shakily got to her feet. Just as she was bracing herself to jump to the next branch a pair of muscular arms scooped her up.

"Ah! Um, I-Itachi I can do it myself. D-don't trouble yourself..." Her voice died away as she glanced up at rogue ninja. Confused, she wondered why he was staring down at her when it hit her like a ton of bricks. _That pervert is practically trying to see through my shirt!_

"What are you staring at?"

"I'm not sure but I think your fly is open."

"WHAT!?!"

"Just kidding. You really are naive. Go to sleep or something. It'll be easier for me to carry you." Itachi smirked when she glared at him again.

"Y-you don't have to t-treat me like a baby. I-I can do it myself."

"No, you can't. You haven't been training, your arm and shoulder are damaged, and you haven't slept all night."

Hinata blushed. " Well, my shoulder is damaged courtesy of you, I couldn't train courtesy of you, and, because of the pain in that very shoulder I had difficulty sleeping."

Itachi gave her a cool look. "Your point is?"

"You really are a self...uhn.." Hinata's head slumped into Itachi's chest. He really didn't mind using a sleeping jutsu on her. Holding her carefully in his arms he swiftly caught up with the other Akatsuki members. Deidara glanced back with a look of worry on his face but as soon as he saw Hinata sleeping safely in his friend's arms, he smiled in an almost knowing way.

After another hour of traveling they stopped near a lake. Hinata woke up just as Itachi set her down.

"Well, well, look who finally woke up." Hinata stared around in surprise.

"You did that sleeping jutsu on me again!"

"Is that how you thank someone for carrying you for over an hour?"

"Y-you carried me all this way? Th-that's nice of you."She smiled shyly.

"Hn. You do owe me, though." Itachi looked away, his arms crossed.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Hinata nervously.

"I want you to kiss me. A kiss of your own accord. I won't force you or anything like that. You can do it any time you want to." He turned his head slowly to look at her, wondering how she would respond.

"Eh, o-okay."Hinata blushed and looked down.

When she looked up Itachi was walking away from her towards the lake. Deidara had stretched out on the grass, eyes closed and his soft golden hair spilling out all around him. Sasori was leaning against a tree, whittling away at a piece of wood. Kisame had taken off his shirt (the rest of his body was like that of a regular human male, only blue-gray. His head has the sharklike appearance) and was submerged underwater. She knew he wouldn't drown; he already had gills. Hinata dug the bathing suit(thank god it was a one-piece) out of her bag. After asking Sasori permission she found a secluded spot and put it on. She was rather surprised to find that it felt rather cozy. It was meshed around the waist so that it showed the midriff, while the rest was made of a stretchy, waterproof cloth. It was a dark blue. The bandages rubbed against the cloth a bit, but she didn't mind. The only problem was she couldn't get them wet.

When she walked back to the lake she noticed Itachi was looking at the relaxing Deidara with narrowed eyes. Hinata thought he was going to attack him when she saw something else in his eyes; mischief. She watched as Itachi picked up a canteen and emptied it's contents on to Deidara's face.

"Yow!!! What the hell did you do that for, yeah?!" Hinata stifled a giggle. So even Itachi had a goofy side.

"You did say you were thirsty. I was just doing you a favor."Itachi gave him his signature bored look.

"Fine then I'll pay you back! Yeah!" Deidara took the scope off his other eye and tried to tackle Itachi. Itachi dodged the younger Akatsuki and smirked.

"After all that training I gave you you're still too slow to catch me."

Hinata smiled at their antics. Here were two grown men acting like little kids. Shaking her head at what she had witnessed, she walked farther along the edge of the lake. She wanted to be by herself for a few moments.

_Maybe I can practice my water and wind jutsus. _She paused by a pile of boulders that jutted out a little in to the lake._ Perfect. _

Closing her eyes, she concentrated chakra to her outstretched arms and began the new technique she had been working on.(I hope I'm getting this Japanese right, please correct me if this is wrong)

"Kaze Rasen!"(Wind Spiral)

A small tornado whipped up in the middle of the lake, sending ripples across it. Seeing that the first part of her technique was done she began the second part; using one hand to control the wind spiral, she concentrated chakra to her other hand.

"Mizu Rasen!"(obviously Water Spiral)

The water spiraled within the wind spiral, almost merging. With the water and wind mixing, it resembled a small hurricane. Hinata smiled. This was the farthest she had gone in developing her new jutsu.It was always at this point that something went wrong. Last time, she froze the pond she was doing it in. _Okay, Hinata, this is it. _

Knowing that what she was about to do could kill herself, she used the water walking jutsu and carefully walked to where the "hurricane" was and stepped directly under it, into the "eye". The hurricane surged around her, surrounding Hinata in a shield of blue. Hinata had gone too far to stop. Releasing more chakra than she ever had before, she slowly changed the temperature of the wind, making it colder until it made the water freeze into snow.

On the bank Itachi looked toward the far side of the lake. Seeing Hinata standing on a boulder he had made his way toward her, wondering what on earth she was doing. As he got closer and saw what was happening he broke in to a run, stopping on the boulder she had stood on moments before.

The kunoichi was inside her new creation, oblivious to everything outside the wind.

Hinata strained herself to the point that it made her head ache. The snow had rapidly turned to ice, the ice turning sharp as needles as it continued to spin around her. It was made faster by the wind. Letting out a pained growl she released the jutsu, making the thousands of ice blades shoot off in all directions. She gasped as she saw Itachi not too far from her just as she completed the jutsu.

"Itachi, no!" she cried as ice blades flew off in his direction. He vanished, and she sighed, relieved he had managed to escape.

"What the hell were you doing,"growled a voice behind her. Hinata turned around to see Itachi standing several feet behind her. His eyes had turned red, and the three black tomoe in each eye were spinning madly. He quickly closed the distance between them and grabbed her arm, his face close to hers. He was so scary that Hinata nearly released her water walking jutsu.

"I asked you a question. _What were you doing?_"

Hinata flinched. "I-I was practicing m-my n-new jutsu"

Itachi watched as Hinata began to pale under his gaze. He had no idea why he was so angry at her. _Why should I care if she accidentally kills herself? That would have been a blessing. _

"Well, don't do it again without any of us watching. You could have injured yourself badly, or worse." His hand tightened. "We're leaving soon so get changed."

He let go of her and walked back to the bank. Hinata quickly did as he asked and met up with the others who were waiting. As soon as she arrived Itachi set off at a fast pace. Deidara and Sasori waited until she was close enough before they began to leave. Kisame dropped back until he was next to her, effortlessly jumping from branch to branch.

"K-Kisame? I'm sorry I did that. I forgot you were in the lake as well." She felt really bad. She could have injured him.

Kisame grinned, his pointed teeth looking deadly.

"Heh. Why apologize? That was one of the best water techniques I've ever seen. As soon as I start training you, we'll think of a way to improve it. For now, think of some ideas for new techniques."

Hinata's heart raced. She hadn't expected him to be so forgiving. She made a mental note to be less awkward toward him. Things may have been difficult for him because of his outside appearance.

"I'll go tell Itachi about my suggestion and see what he thinks." He caught up with Itachi and spoke with him. After a while, Itachi looked back at her before going ahead with his partner.

Deidara gave her a proud smile before catching up to Sasori. Hinata stayed just behind them, happy that they accepted her.

They only traveled for another hour before they stopped at a village. It was bright and sunny, and flowers were growing on street corners.

"What is this village?"Hinata asked. Itachi, though he was right next to her ignored her and walked away. Deidara, who was on her other side answered.

"It's called Hanagakure, the Village Hidden in the Flowers. It used to be a ninja village but about ten years ago it broke up. The shinobi made it a regular village and moved to Iwagakure,(Stone village) where I came from, yeah."

"Really? This place is so beautiful."

Deidara nodded in agreement. "Yeah. That's why Sasori and I live here. My house is too small, so that's why we're staying at Sasori's."

"Where is Sasori's house, anyway?" It was hard to picture Sasori living near the village square, since he was one of the most quiet men she had ever known.

"He lives at one corner of the village. We'll be there in a half an hour, yeah"

When they arrived Hinata simply stared at the house, in awe. It was huge. It had about three stories and must have been at least thirty feet across. There were daisies planted in the front lawn, and a tiny pond with a few silver fish in the middle of it.

"You like?" Sasori asked as he fitted a key into the lock. After jiggling them a bit the door swung open.

If the outside was nice, the inside was even better. The house was filled with wooden statues, from tiny hummingbirds to a large, five foot dragon with outstretched wings. A statue of a smiling little girl holding a bouquet of flowers stood behind a glass case.

Hinata looked at each piece closely, noting the fine detail Sasori put into his work.

"How many of these did you make?" Hinata asked, astounded.

Sasori turned around from examining a statue. "That fish you're looking at is the most recent. Look at the number under it."

The leaf ninja turned it over and nearly staggered backward. "11, 568?"

"That's right. But enough about me, you should go unpack and rest. Itachi will show you your room."

Itachi glared at the senior Akatsuki as if angry that he gave him an order but kept silent. Even Sasori was worthy of Itachi's respect.

As the Uchiha walked upstairs Hinata followed after him, trying to think of something to say. He was deliberately ignoring her again. She didn't know why, but she felt a bit sad that she couldn't even talk to him. Itachi opened the second door to the right and beckoned her in. The room had a wooden theme, with a wooden dresser, wooden wardrobe, wooden floors, even a wooden lamp. _Sasori seems to like wood, _Hinata thought. _But he does know how to make a place shine._ Sasori really had a beautiful mind; he showed it in all his work.

When she turned around to say something Itachi had turned around. "Itachi, wait!" She called out to him but he made no motion to show whether he had heard her; he only turned the corner without looking back. _Maybe he just doesn't like me..._

She quickly unpacked and hurried downstairs to the kitchen. Deidara and Sasori were in there, Deidara shaping a huge slab of clay into a jar. Sasori was busy polishing a few statues.

"Sasori...thank you for letting me stay here. Do you want me to start dinner now?" Hinata bowed slightly to the Akatsuki.

Sasori nodded his head slowly, giving her a tiny smile. "Yes, I would like that very much."

Deidara looked up from his pottery. "What are you making, yeah?"

Hinata blushed in embarrassment, realizing for the first time that she didn't yet know what she was making. "I haven't decided yet. What do you have in mind?"

Deidara grinned. "How about chili? I haven't had that in a long time, yeah."

"O-okay. I hope you won't mind if it's spicy."

"The spicier the better, yeah." Deidara bent down and began scratching images and designs into the soft clay.

For a few hours Hinata worked hard, preparing kidney beans and chicken, and opening bottles full of different spices. She also cut herself several times on opened tomato sauce cans.

"Hope you enjoy," she said when she set the food down in front of them at supper. She sucked a cut finger as she watched their reactions. Despite the fact that it was steaming hot Deidara scooped up a large spoonful and rolled it around in his mouth, savoring the taste.

"It's a beautiful piece of artwork, made only for the tastebuds, an explosion of intense flavor that lingers long enough for one to fully...what, yeah?"

He had just noticed the pained looks on everyone else's faces. Sasori and Kisame had tears rolling down their cheeks. Itachi, who hadn't taken a bite was watching with an amused look on his face.

"You bakas," he said trying to keep his face straight.

When Sasori and Kisame recovered, they reassured her it tasted wonderful for the first ten seconds then exploded with an unrivaled spiciness. Then, after a few minutes they realized something. Itachi still hadn't taken a bite.

"Look, Itachi. If all of us had to suffer, you must as well. It only burns for the first bite, after that each bite is harmless and nice. Let's see you eat the whole bowl in one go, yeah." Deidara gave his former instructor an evil grin.

Itachi sighed and poured his chili in to a glass. And chugged it down.

Hinata watched with wide eyes. There was no way he would be able to survive that... Itachi put the glass down and looked at all of them with his usual bored expression.They all looked closely at Itachi's face, but he didn't even twitch.

"Huh. And you call yourselves men." He got up and went upstairs.

Turning around to the rest of the men at the table, Hinata looked them all in the eye. "Ahem?"

Grumbling incoherently, they each tossed a few bucks in front of her, Kisame only putting in a piece of paper that said 'I.O.U'

After dinner Hinata took her tank top off and examined her bandages. Her chest felt too tight. Sasori had wrapped the bandages around her entire torso in the hopes of protecting her bruised body against more injury, yet they hurt a bit.

Sighing, she grabbed her ointment bottle and was just about to get to work on her shoulder when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said before realizing she was only wearing shorts and the bandages. At least nothing was exposed...

Itachi came in, his face expressionless.

"Hinata," he said quietly, closing the door.

"Hi,"she said, feeling awkward.

"Look, I just want to apologize for the way I've been acting."

Hinata froze, her fingers poised just above the cream .Her eyes widened when she realized what he had just said. Itachi didn't say anything else; instead he took the ointment bottle from her and rubbed some on her shoulder, spreading it over the bruised area. He then rubbed some across her sore arm, until it faded away in her skin. Hinata remained almost totally still, as if in shock. She was trembling a little. Even though he was doing it gently, Itachi's touch on that arm scared her, making her feel as if he would break it again or worse.

Itachi sensed her discomfort. He was about to get up when he saw something purple curling it's way

across her back, like a tattoo that had a swirling pattern. Hinata didn't seem to notice it. Knowing fully well that it was best to leave the kunoichi alone, he closed the ointment bottle and walked out. After a few seconds, he peeked in to her room again. She was still sitting in the same position, but the mark had disappeared.

_Interesting,_ he thought to himself.

Hinata, recovering from her surprise tucked herself in to bed, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. It was hours later that she woke up from a nightmare that had haunted her ever since she was six.

Itachi woke up to the sound of a strangled cry from the kunoichi's bedroom. He opened the door slowly and saw her in her bed, thrashing wildly every couple of seconds. Confused and mildy curious he went to her side and saw that tears were leaking out the corners of her shut eyes. Activating Mangekyou Sharingan (kaleidoscope copy-wheel eye) he kept his gaze on her eyelids. Even if a person had his eyes closed, he was still able to invade his thoughts.

After a few seconds he found himself in a dark Konoha forest. A swift movement caught his eye and he crept closer to see who it was. A ninja, his black uniform blending smoothly into the shadows was bounding from tree to tree. He seemed to have something thrown over his back. A little girl. Itachi followed him silently, wondering what was going on. He stopped to refocus his eyes, then followed the trail the dark ninja had carelessly left. Hearing a scream, he darted once again through the forest and nearly fell out of the tree at the scene he saw below.

The man was tearing off the little girl's clothes, paying no heed to her pleading cries. The child struggled valiantly, even managing to get free of his grip once. He only caught her again and dragged her back to him. Itachi watched, frozen and appalled as he began fondling her inappropriately. When he put his hand on her chest, the child bit him in the arm. He only slapped her across the face

As she let out another scream the man whispered something in her ear and dealt her a swift blow to the head, knocking her out. Just as he was about to put his hands on her again another man with long black hair knocked him over and slashed him across the face with a kunai. The shinobi in the dark uniform stepped forward in a patch of moonlight and his forehead protector gleamed. The symbol on it was a cloud. _A cloud ninja, _Itachi thought. _This seems familiar..._

The second man flashed in front of the Cloud ninja and, with an enraged roar stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. The Cloud ninja clutched at the kunai before falling forward on top of it. His eyes stared sightlessly at the night sky, while blood seeped from his chest in to the soft grass...

Hyuuga Hiashi turned back to the little girl, who had woken up and was curled up in a ball, sobbing in to her fists. Taking off his cloak, he wrapped it around her fragile naked body and picked her up, holding her close.

"Forgive me, Hinata... I shall not let this happen to you ever again,"he said, his own face shining with tears."

It was at this point that Itachi released the dream. He let his eyes adjust as Hinata's room appeared around him again. Hinata stirred and sat up, breathing heavily. She lowered her head in embarrassment upon seeing that the eldest Uchiha was in her room, watching her every movement.

"S-sorry for waking y-you up,"she choked out.

Itachi did not say anything for a several seconds. Then...

"Do you want to sleep with me for the night? You may not have any more bad dreams if there are others with you." He deliberately left out the fact that he had eavesdropped on her entire dream.

Hinata looked down, her voice barely audible.

"If it's not too much trouble for you.." she closed her eyes, afraid he would just leave her alone like everyone else had.

Without a word Itachi carried her in to his room and put her down on his bed. When he lay his head on his pillow he felt the mattress shift slightly. Then, a sudden pressure and warmth on his cheek.

"I-I j-j-just w-wanted t-to th-thank y-you. For h-helping m-me." Hinata turned a deep shade of red, surprised that she had actually kissed him.

"Hn" was all Itachi said. "Just sleep." As Hinata closed her eyes, he hoped she wouldn't notice that his cheeks were reddened slightly.

_Of course...she was the Hyuuga kid that was kidnaped years ago for her byakugan. I thought it was her sister before..._

Itachi listened to her gentle breathing. He was never a very warm or caring person, yet he couldn't help but feel pity for the young Hyuuga. _Ugh,_he thought. _I'm turning soft. _

_Sigh..._I really feel loved by all the reviews I've been getting.wipes away tear

Some of my reviewers reminded me that I still hadn't written about what was going on in Konoha. I had totally forgotten about what would have happened there! bashes head to cactus Thanks for reminding me, and the next chapter will show what happened to Team 8 and in Konoha after Hinata left. Oh, yeah, and Hinata has an otter with fighting techniques because (a) she uses a type of taijutsu and (b) she uses water techniques(otters live in water, duh) .Thanks so much,

Narutochica. T T


	10. Jealousy

Hello, everyone, I have just recovered from a severe case of writer's block. Due to distraction from a guy at school I like. _Sigh... _I won't describe him anymore since people from my school (yes, I mean you two) might read this and know who I was talking about.

Anyway, on with the battle...I mean story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

JEALOUSY

Kurenai Yuhi paced around her apartment, stopping every now and then to look at the old photo of Team 8. It had been nearly a month since her student Hinata had gone missing. Tsunade, the Hokage was still sending out patrols to find the young Hyuuga, yet every effort had turned up nothing. Team 8 had to continue their mission even when they couldn't find her.

Kurenai was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Kiba, Shino and Akamaru sitting on her couch until the large, cream-colored dog let out a quiet bark.

"Well? Anything new?" she asked, looming over her students.

Kiba looked too scared to answer, so Shino did. "Yes. Akamaru caught a scent similar to that of Uchiha Sasuke's near the point where we lost Hinata's trail. We think now think that she was kidnaped by Itachi."

Seeing his teacher stiffen he stopped speaking. Kurenai fixed her unusual red eyes on her team.

"Go on,"she said, her voice weak.

"Akatsuki may have her right now, but we don't know why." This last statement was from Kiba.

This earned him another glare from his team leader.

"D-d-direshon Rerinada gdo re-est." Akamaru stumbled over the human words he was just learning to pronounce. "Gunno scent brud." He turned to Kiba for help.

"He says he can tell Hinata went west, and though there was a bit of a struggle, he smelled no blood." Kiba let his eyes rest on his dog brother. Akamaru always had a sort of connection to Hinata. That bond was so strong even he thought that Akamaru was almost closer to the Hyuuga than to himself. He turned his attention back to Kurenai, who was speaking again.

"Did you three tell the Hokage yet?"

They shook their heads.

"We'll tell her right now, and request that we go on a mission to rescue her." Her voice was no longer small and weak; it was now sharp and authoritative, and commanded respect.

Opening her window Kurenai sprang out and onto street level, Shino right behind her. Kiba, after a long sigh bounded through with Akamaru.

Meanwhile, at the Hyuuga compound.

14 year old Hanabi Hyuuga looked up from her textbooks, deep in thought. Ever since Hinata went missing, she couldn't concentrate on her studies. She knew that she could never become a medic-nin unless she passed all her exams. _Hinata...why did you leave? I should have been a better sister for you...then maybe this wouldn't have happened. _She stared at the diagram of a human eye, barely even seeing the words.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to think straight if she didn't concentrate Hanabi clapped shut her textbooks and walked quietly to her father's study.

"Father?"she called out. Hiashi looked up from his documents. "Is there any news about Hinata?"

Hiashi hesitated, then replied. "The Hokage told me early on today that she was taken by Akatsuki."

"A-Akatsuki?" Hanabi's eyes widened. There was not one genin who hadn't heard of that horrible group.

"Aren't you going to go after her?"

Hiashi stood up and gave her another long stare. "That girl is more use to them than to us, and that isn't saying much."

"B-but Father..."

"Do not argue with me. This is the perfect opportunity for you to become heiress to the clan. Aren't you glad!?"

Hanabi's eyes widened even more. "I don't want to become heiress. I'll be miserable. And what about Hinata!? She could get killed." She broke off as Hiashi stood over her, his hand raised. His eyes blazed with anger, and he was holding a kunai in his other hand. Hanabi cowered and backed against the door.

"Listen up, I will say this once and only once. You will do as I say. Do not mention this conversation to anyone else, and do not even think of leaving to look for that girl. You are the Hyuugas' only hope to make the clan as strong as it once was. Do you hear me?"

Tears ran silently down Hanabi's face as she slowly nodded.

"Good. Now get out."

The younger Hyuuga backed away and ran back to her room. As soon as she closed the door she threw open her drawers and started throwing her clothes and weapons in to a rucksack. _I don't care what he says. I've been so horrible to her, yet she's treated me with nothing but kindness. She has every reason to hate me. Maybe I could look for her whenever I go training. I'll keep an eye out during my mission tomorrow. _

_Flashback_

_Hanabi knocked down her older sister and pinned her to the ground. Hinata gasped as she felt the edge of a kunai being pressed against her throat. _

_Got her now, Hanabi thought._

"_Hanabi, that's enough. Hinata, get up and dust yourself off." Hiashi said from outside the fence of the training grounds. He had asked the two of them to spar with each other, as if wanting to see how they improved._

_Hanabi released her sister and walked across the small arena to pick up the rest of her weapons. As she bent down she heard her father approach Hinata. She strained to hear what words would pass between them._

_Hinata sat on the ground, her legs folded beneath her. Her hands lay on her lap, and her head was bowed._

"_You haven't progressed one bit in your training. Hanabi should have been born first. She would make a much better Head of Family."_

_Hinata did not say anything; She kept as silent as ever. _

_Hiashi clenched his fists. "I am ashamed of you. Stay out of my sight." With that he whipped around and stalked off, his robes billowing out behind him._

_Hanabi turned back to her weapons, pretending she hadn't heard. After a few minutes she felt a light touch on her shoulder. It was Hinata, twiddling her fingers nervously._

"_What?" she said, then cursed herself mentally. Though she disliked her sister for her weaknesses, she couldn't help but pity her at that one moment. Being rude to her didn't seem to help Hinata's situation at all._

"_U-um. Th-that was a great t-training session. S-someday you'll m-make an e-excellent ninja." she smiled nervously._

"_Uh, thanks." Hanabi watched her sister hurry away, wondering why she was never mean to her._

_End of Flashback._

Hanabi sat on her beanbag chair(yes, they had those) and closed her eyes. _She's such an innocent person...I hope she's all right._

Back in his office Hiashi once again picked up his documents and looked them over, his brow furrowed. He stiffened as he realized just how serious the situation was.

_If Akatsuki have their hands on her...she may be the ruin of us all!_

He dropped his papers and teleported himself out of the estate. _I must tell the Hokage everything. Now._

Back at Sasori's house...

Itachi watched the sleeping Hinata, lifting his eyebrow in amusement when she nearly rolled off the bed. Smirking, he grabbed her around the waist just in time and dragged her closer to him, away from the edge.

"That felt nice." She muttered in her sleep. Itachi took his arm off her waist, wondering if he should just leave her alone.

Heh. Like he'd ever do that.

Narrowing his eyes, he ran his hand across her belly again.

_Thump._

Itachi glanced at Hinata's leg, which had kicked the foot of his bed. He experimentally rubbed her again.

_Thump. _

Hinata's leg kicked out every time he rubbed her stomach. _Huh. She does have weird habits,_ he though. He felt a little better knowing he had found out something new about the young Hyuuga.

She intrigued him that much.

Since he had the perfect opportunity, Itachi decided to study her, starting at her face. It was a little round and kind of childish, yet there was an air of maturity about it as well. Her lips were small and light pink in color. Her hair, he noticed was not jet black as he had originally thought but had faint bits of blue in it. Her cheeks were tinted pink.

Her chest now...

It was covered in bandages, and Itachi did not want to think perverted thoughts about her. Moving right along to her arms, he could see they were slender, yet rippled with hidden muscle. Touching her forearm, he felt that they were firm as well. Her knuckles were in a horribly bruised state; the skin there was almost raw in some places and rough in others. No doubt from long, harsh training every day. Her abdomen... once again, muscular. She had the perfect build for a ninja in the ANBU. Perfect for Akatsuki...

Hinata shifted and writhed uncomfortably. As soon as she started shivering and sweating Itachi laid his hand on her forehead in a soothing way. Immediately she stopped tossing and turning and went back to her original sleeping position.

Seeing that she was in peace again he flopped back down on the pillow, his eyes closed. He still had a few hours before he had to get up. Besides, he had a mission tomorrow. Better to rest up...

A few hours later Hinata woke up. It took her several seconds to realize she was in Itachi's room. _Why do I always end up in the same bed as him?_ She thought as she looked at the sleeping Uchiha next to her. Lifting up the navy blue blanket carefully, she slid herself off the bed as quietly as possible. A quick glance at the Uchiha still fast asleep in the bed told her that it was safe to proceed. Hinata smiled to herself(she didn't know why) and opened the door.

Only to find herself face-to-face with(or face-to-chest) with Itachi.

Hinata tilted her head up slightly to look up at his face. Once again he graced her with one of his smirks. Hinata blushed and backed away, her whole face turning red. Itachi was half-naked, wearing only a black pants. His hair was loose and wet, and (okay fangirls, swoon and faint!) his chest was also wet, making it glisten. A bath towel was thrown over his shoulder.

"Want to take a picture? It'll last longer." Itachi was still smirking, inwardly enjoying the fact that Hinata liked what she was seeing. She was bad at hiding her feelings.

" U-um Itachi? Wait, but weren't you just- " A loud _POOF _filled the room and Hinata turned around to see an empty bed.

"Fooled by one of my kage bunshin?" Itachi eyed her coolly.

"U-um th-thanks f-for l-letting me s-stay with you. I w-was just leaving to take a shower. " she bowed to him uncertainly, hoping he wouldn't be offended.

"You could have just taken one in here,"he said, pointing to the bathroom which was several feet away from the bed. "I showered in another room."

"Th-thank you," she stammered, trying not to stare at his muscular chest.

"Hn" Itachi said and moved aside to let her pass. (By the way, Itachi just saying 'hn' will show up many times throughout this fic, so you should get used to it. :3 )

As Hinata passed she accidentally rubbed against him, startling herself to the point that she fell over and with a loud crack hit the back of her head on the floor(she's not hurt seriously). As she lay groaning and touching her head Itachi kneeled on the floor over her, his knees on either side of her

waist and his hands on either side of her head.

"Are you bleeding?" he asked, concern etched on his face. Hinata, her eyes closed from the pain shook her head.

Itachi reached a hand under her head and lifted it, feeling for the throbbing spot. At once Hinata opened her eyes and sat up a little, and it was then that they noticed the awkward position they were both in. It was even worse when she felt something hard bump against her stomach.

Itachi's eyes widened, and so did Hinata's. His hair was falling over her face, obscuring her vision of everything except his. His midnight black eyes stared directly into her own, looking just as confused as hers were. He stopped breathing as he realized what was bothering her. _No wonder her face is so red..._

Hinata tried to speak, then shut her eyes as a wave of pain went throughout her lower body. And the strange thing was...she _liked _it. She opened her mouth to speak once again.

"I-Itachi...I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to..." she looked like she were about to cry.

Itachi got off her and picked her up, holding her against his chest so as not to drop her.

Hinata gave him one last wide-eyed look before fainting in his arms. The shocked(and slightly amused) Uchiha carried her back to her room, where he gently laid her back on her bed.

Itachi walked back to his room and locked the door, then went straight to his bathroom and locked the door to that also. He wanted to relieve the growing stress in his groin, yet couldn't. The more he pictured the Hyuuga in his mind, the more the feeling grew. Finally he couldn't ignore it.

_I can't believe she made me lose control like that...she is turning out to be a bigger challenge than I thought._

Hinata (once again) woke up, this time in her own bed. _What happened?_ She asked herself. _And why does my head hurt? _The memories came flooding back as soon as she patted at the tender spot.

A blush slowly made it's way across her face, and she hid her face in her blanket. _What is Itachi going to think of me now?_

After taking a deep breath, the Hyuuga heiress took her morning shower and, after a long time decided to wear a black Chinese shirt with long sleeves that widened at the ends. It had the red outline of an Eastern dragon on the back, it's long whiskers flaring out around wide-open jaws and one of it's taloned paws holding a large pearl. The long, ridged tail was wound around the left sleeve. Next, she put on a pair of black capri pants and the usual sandals that many shinobi wear, except these were for women. As for her hair she kept it loose.

Finally, she snapped on the black spiked collar that Akamaru had given her for her birthday. Whenever she wore it, she felt very calm and relaxed. Kiba had told her that it was almost impossible to lose her mind or get stressed while wearing the collar. He usually kept one on Akamaru to keep him from going wild and attacking someone. Akamaru only took his own collar off when he was about to enter a fight, as did Hinata.

When she went downstairs she immediately felt someone's eyes on her. Whipping around, she saw the same light-blond man from nearly a month ago, when she had first been brought into one of the Akatsuki hideouts. She had never spoken to him before, but she could remember Kisame calling him Hidan once.

"Hey Hina," he said in a flirting voice. "I think we haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we?"

Hinata shook her head, unable to say anything at the moment.

"The name's Hidan," he said, coming closer until she was backed in to a corner. He leaned against the wall and grinned down at her.

"Um, nice to m-meet you Hidan," Hinata stammered, ducking out from under the Akatsuki's arm.

Though the Akatsuki was acting polite, he somehow managed to strike some fear in to her.

"Come now, don't be shy," he said in a seductive tone while pressing his lips on to the back of her hand. He gazed deeply in to her eyes with his hazel ones, and Hinata's fear slowly dissolved.

"You're new to Akatsuki, right?"He said in the same seductive voice he had used before. "How about we go out for a while and try to get to know each other better, eh?"

"T-that would be nice,"Hinata whispered shyly. She didn't know why, but she felt attracted to Hidan. Her face got even redder when he wrapped his left arm firmly around her waist. She timidly smiled.

"Too bad Hinata's coming with me today,"said a familiar voice behind her. Hinata turned her head around to see Itachi standing right behind her. His sharingan was activating, and it was rapidly transforming until the tomoe grew bigger and formed a sort of black pinwheel shape with a red hole in it. Several thin red veins in the whites of his eyes led to the red-and-black pupils.

_So that is Mangekyou,_ Hinata thought as she watched. _It looks scary..._

Hidan pressed her against him even more firmly than before. Her chest was crushed against his, and she had to put her right hand on his shoulder to make room.

"Relax Uchiha," Drawled Hidan. He still didn't surrender his grip on the Hyuuga. "It's not like I was going to hurt her or anything."

Itachi narrowed his eyes even more than before and directed his gaze on Hinata who was still staring at him. As soon as their eyes met she looked down.

"Leader told me that I'm responsible for her, so find some other person to bother,"Itachi replied, still staring at Hinata. The said woman wriggled out of Hidan's grasp and turned to him.

"Um, it was nice meeting you Hidan,"she said bowing.

"Same to you," he drawled, kissing her cheek and walking out. Itachi gave Hidan one last glare before deactivating his Mangekyou and turned his attention back to Hinata, who was staring at the floor with a reddish hue on her face.

Itachi didn't know why but seeing Hinata get kissed by another man seemed to annoy him. The fact that she seemed to enjoy it only added fuel to his anger. _I've been taking care of her all this time, and she's already willing to go off with that- _He quickly banished all thoughts of Hidan from his mind as he looked at the kunoichi. She was shuffling nervously, and twiddling her fingers together.

"Just go eat something then meet me living room in a half hour. I need to show you around the village. And take this." He handed her a katana still in it's sheath. "We may train today."

Hinata nodded and went off in the direction of the kitchen.

Itachi watched her go, a painful feeling tearing at his heart.

Back in Konoha...

Hanabi Hyuuga woke, feeling refreshed. She quickly grabbed her bag of weapons and supplies and dashed out of her room.

After a light and hasty breakfast she dashed out the front door, only to be held back by several Hyuuga Branch members.

"Let go of me!" Hanabi snarled and fought to get out their grasp.

"Hanabi, stop struggling this instant!" Hiashi rumbled a few feet in front of her.

"What is this about!?" Hanabi rasped, her throat dry. At a nod from Hiashi her weapons pack was taken off her shoulders and carried away.

"Father, tell me what is going on! I have a mission right now!" She raised her voice, furious that she was still being restrained.

"You are going to be the new heiress of this Clan," Hiashi said quietly, his eyes showing no emotion.

"N-no!" His youngest daughter shouted, struggling even more than before. "I refuse to become heir! I don't want to be like you!"

She was answered by a couple of sharp slaps across her cheek.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Hiashi thundered. "You are not allowed to go on any more missions until we know what happened to your sister. I don't want you to go looking for her either. You could get killed and that would ruin any chances of the Hyuuga becoming as great as they have once been."

"You can't do this to me!" Hanabi raged back with tears of anger rolling down her face. "I hate this stupid Clan! You really do want to leave her to die!"

" It is tradition and you must accept it!"

"Father,"said Hanabi in a low and deadly voice. "You can take that tradition and shove it up your fat old ass for all I care. I am no longer a Hyuuga."

Hiashi clenched his fists , shocked that his favourite daughter would deny the Hyuuga name.

"Take that ungrateful wretch up to her room and lock her in. She'll get not food nor drink until she's willing to do as I say."

Hanabi felt someone jerk at her arm and turned around. It was Neji.

"You heard what he said,"Neji hissed as he yanked her arm again.

Hanabi followed, upset that even her favorite cousin hated her at that moment.

Neji opened her bedroom door and shoved her in.

"Neji..."

"Sh. Listen, Hanabi, you need to get out of here. Any place is better than here."

Hanabi blinked. Was Neji really siding with her?

"We'll work out a plan later. I'm sorry about this."He looked down, overwhelmed with guilt.

"It's okay Neji.."

Neji gave her a small smile and patted her on the head.

"I'll see you later. Me and Tenten will bust you out of here in a day or two."

Hanabi watched as he shut the door. She closed her eyes when she heard the lock click.

_Now I know how Hinata felt. And she's suffered through this treatment for most of her life..._

As she looked out the window at the moon, she smiled. A plan was already working itself through her clever mind.

_Flashback _

"_YOU DAMN HYUUGAS!!!!" The Hokage roared. Picking up one of her numerous bottles of sake she hurled it across the room at Hiashi Hyuuga as he dodged around desks and chairs._

"_Tsunade, let me explain please!" Hiashi said quickly as the glass bottle nearly hit him._

"_No wonder your wife is dead! It's all because of you Hyuuga and your stupid traditions! She was completely fine when I had checked on her. That poor woman died from the grief and stress you caused her!"_

_This last comment was followed closely by a vase( with a dead plant in it) and a copy of Icha Icha Techniques._

_Hiashi dodged the vase and was just regaining his balance when he was hit(hard) in the face with Icha Icha Techniques. "You old bitch!" he growled at Tsunade._

"_WHAT did you call me!?" Tsunade picked up her desk and was just about to hurl it at the Hyuuga Head when Shizune came running in._

"_Hokage, please stop this behavior!" she said calmly._

_Tsunade sucked in a breath and put down her desk._

"_And what about Hinata? The things you have done to that girl are enough to give you a life sentence! First the Uchihas and now the Hyuugas!"_

"_Look you," she said slamming Hiashi into a wall. A piece of the ceiling fell, leaving a hole that exposed the sky. "I don't care about your Clan's traditions anymore. You have gone too far now. I want you to find Hinata and bring her back, then set her free from the Hyuuga clan forever so she could live her life the way she wants. And, should you fail in this or do something stupid again I shall break your traditions and demote you to regular Jonin, and I, the Hokage shall choose the new Head of the Hyuuga clan."_

_She released him, and Hiashi fell to the floor._

"_Now stay out of my sight for the next few days, you disgusting jackass. GO!"_

_Hiashi tripped over his robes in his haste to get out ._

_Tsunade sat back down on her desk, not noticing that everything that was on it had either been tossed at the Hyuuga or fell to the floor. "That monster," she said aloud, tears coming to her eyes._

"_Shizune,"she said. "Summon Team Kurenai. And while you're there, please pass my Icha Icha Techniques."_

_End of Flashback._

"Are you ready?" Itachi asked.

Hinata nodded. "Yes"

"Come with me."

Hinata followed him meekly as he walked toward the village square. Itachi noticed several men eyeing her greedily. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. As soon as Hinata came close enough to him he reached out grabbed her hand. "Hurry up,"he said, while glaring at the men with Mangekyou. Almost immediately their expressions of lust turned to that of fear and they ran off screaming.

"What was that about?" asked Hinata, feeling faint because Itachi was holding her hand.

"Nothing,"said Itachi tersely. "Nothing at all."

I am SO sorry it took me forever to get this chapter ready. I nearly died when I saw the amount of reviews I got for the last one. Literally, I was like WTF!?!? I was so overjoyed! Anyway, I owe a whole bunch of you reviews( especially Hinata6) and I hope you all enjoyed the story.

And about that dream in the last chapter. It wasn't a figment of Hinata-chan's imagination, it really happened. And no, she wasn't raped, just touched and fondled inappropriately.

Thanks again for all the reviews,

Narutochica


	11. A Busy Day

Hello, sorry for the delays, I'll explain why at the end. Yawn...just finished this a few minutes ago...zzzzzzzzzz. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day keeping me awake to write...don't know what I'd do without them...zzzz

Disclaimer:zzzzz...still don't own Naruto...zzz

**A Busy Day**

Hinata held tightly to Itachi's hand as he led her through the winding streets of Hanagakure Village. For some odd reason he was very tense. He only gave her short answers whenever she asked him a question, and hardly even looked at her. She sighed, feeling ignored.

"Itachi?"

"What?" he asked in an agitated voice.

"I-I'm sorry if I did anything to annoy you."

The elder Uchiha seemed to hesitate.

"Do you think you're important enough to annoy me?"

Hinata flinched, then regained her composure.

"Sorry. Where are we going?"

Itachi gave her a frustrated glare before answering. "We're shopping for supplies. I have a mission tomorrow and I'm leaving early in the morning. Now stop bothering me." He let go of her hand and walked ahead, not looking back.

_So why take me along if I annoy you?_ She asked in her head as she stared glumly at his back. He was wearing a regular black shirt and black jeans. It was now that she noticed they were both wearing black. _I should have gone out with Hidan. He probably does not like Hidan being around me. He seems to like me better than Itachi does. Maybe he's jealous? Hah!_

As she walked along she noticed Itachi was a full block ahead of her. _Sigh...I better catch up to him. _

Before she could break into a run and catch up someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Interested in getting some drinks with me?" Hinata turned around and saw two men(Itachi's age or older) smirking at her. Their smirks seemed to hold a hidden intent, and they looked like they were going to be trouble. The first man was blond, while the other had spiky brunette hair.

"I need to catch up with someone,"Hinata said hurriedly. "Sorry but I can't come with you."

_These two are kinda hot, but they sure don't compare with Itachi...wait! Did I just think that Itachi was hot!? _Hinata snapped back to reality as the man continued .

"I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind. Why not hang out with a couple of real men, like us?" The guy holding her arm raised his eyebrows, as if prompting her to say yes.

"You know, you got real pretty eyes,"said his companion, sidling closer.

"Um, thanks but no,"Hinata jerked her arm out of his grasp and backed away.

The first man suddenly looked pissed.

"Look, girl, women _beg_ to hang out with us. Don't say no to me."

"Yeah," said the other man, looking just as angry. "We could have loads of fun." He darted forward and grabbed her butt. The blond put his hands around her chest and tried to drag her away with him through an open door that was close by.

Hinata froze, her insides feeling cold as she remembered what the Cloud ninja had done to her years ago. A feeling of rage uncurled from the pit of her stomach, like a pacing tiger suddenly grown aggressive. Almost instinctively she unsnapped her collar, knowing it would hinder her fighting energy. The two guys backed away, feeling overwhelmed with the almost crushing pressure of Hinata's released chakra.

The angered kunoichi clenched her fist and dove toward the men. Pure anger made her forget her training, making her rely on brute strength. She landed a good blow on the brunette's stomach, knocking him into a concrete wall. He slumped unmoving to the ground. As she recovered her footing the blond aimed a heavy punch at her chin.

As if knowing his exact moves, the young Hyuuga threw her head backwards, feeling the man's fist sweep through her long hair harmlessly.

He followed up with a strike with his kunai that drew blood from the side of Hinata's neck to across the bridge of her nose.

Hinata staggered, then dodged to the side. Remembering her special ninjutsu took a scroll out of her back pocket. " Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Bells of Heaven!"

A small set of golden wind chimes appeared in her hand. As soon as she shook them they released a weak, high ring to any passerby. To that particulate man, it felt like he was going deaf; a loud, clanging sound filled his head. His brain throbbed in pain and he felt his entire head vibrate independent of his body. The sound gradually grew louder until the pain in his skull was overbearing; as he yelled in agony they released a final boom that made small streams of blood leak out of his ear. Hinata made the bells disappear back into the scroll and stepped back as he blindly swung at her.

_Heh_ . She swiftly dove under his arms and gave him a sharp uppercut to the chin. As he flew upwards into the air she leaped after him, intent on punishing him more when a weight heavier than her dragged her back down.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and looked down at the brunette who had groped her earlier. He seemed to have recovered, and had his arms around her waist so that when they crashed painfully back to the ground he was on top, his hands pushing her face into the dirt. The blond was lying a few meters away like a rag doll.

"You little whore, I'll teach you not to disrespect us!" His grip tightened, and he shoved her face even more into the dirt. He reached his hand down and grabbed her shirt, as if to rip it off. A sick, lustful grin was plastered on his face.

Hinata opened her eye and glared up at him. _Never mind the other fool...it's this one I want to fight...this one to kill...yes...kill! _

Gathering her arms beneath her, she lifted herself to her knees, making the man topple backwards off of her. The enraged Hyuuga fixed the man with a deadly look, bloodlust evident in her lavender eyes. As he stood up and took a kunai out of his pocket she tackled him, her fingers meeting with his throat. The force of her impact knocked them both several feet in the air. Hinata felt exhilarated, full of an energy she never before had. And she _loved _it. Even while they were both suspended for a few seconds, Hinata already knew how the battle would end. Filling her palm with chakra, she made him fall back-first into the unmercifully hard earth.

As she looked into his fright-filled eyes, she raised her arm, prepared to give the final, killing blow...

which never came.

Itachi(about time he showed up!) held her wrist up from making the strike. He also seemed to be doing it with a minimal amount of effort.

"Hinata...get off him. Now." Hinata glared furiously at the Uchiha, but did as he asked as soon as she saw his Mangekyou was activated.

Itachi didn't say anything as he watched her get up. Her chakra was still putting out an enormous pressure on the air around him.

"Let. Me. Finish. Them." The kunoichi panted.

"No." Itachi said firmly. "You've already caused enough trouble for today. Start walking back the way we came."

Hinata looked as if she would rebel for a second, but when Itachi narrowed his eyes she left, her chakra never ceasing to dominate the air around them.

Itachi turned to the two men who were trying to crawl away. "As for you two..." he said, the black pinwheels in his eyes spinning rapidly. "Why don't we take a little trip to my place..."

Suddenly, the three men were engulfed in total darkness. It was pitch black and silent for a few seconds, then a dim light began to fill the landscape. Blood red clouds appeared above their heads. Though there was no breeze, they still moved slowly in the black sky until they faded away. More clouds appeared to replace the ones from before.

The two men were on their knees, looking around frantically as though there had to be some way of exit.

Itachi stood in front of them, red eyes cold and emotionless. "This is Akatsuki...this is Dawn!" he said in a low deadly voice. As if on cue the light grew particularly bright in one corner of the landscape.

The blond and the brunette moved as if they wanted to see the source of the light, yet they didn't dare turn their heads.

"Go on...look and see,"said Itachi. "But what you see will only remind you of the others...of the other foolish, defenseless people that have suffered at your hands...if you think you have power, then you haven't experienced mine!"

As Itachi spoke they turned and saw a huge blood red sun rising higher into the sky, which still remained as black as night. The blond let out a frightened squawk, and stared down at the ground as if overwhelmed by the guilt of the deeds he had commited. The brunette trembled slightly, then gave Itachi a defiant look. Itachi gave them a nasty smirk.

"In the world of Akatsuki(he's referring to dawn, not the group)...I can torture you for days on end...make you die one hundred times in one hour...how does that sound?"

The brunette hesitated, then said:

"If you promise not to do that to us, we'll never hurt or kill another person again. Promise!"

Itachi kept up his smirk.

"Well, just to be on the safe side.." the pinwheels began spinning again. "You will relive that fight with my teammate for ten hours straight. And each time it replays your body will be in the condition as it was at the end your last fight. Pain on top of more pain."

"NO" the blond yelled, but it was of no use.

Itachi switched back to reality and looked down at his victims. After a few minutes they glanced up at him, their eyes cold with horror.

"In that world it may be ten hours, but here it is only a couple of minutes...now go tell Orochimaru that he is wasting his time going after Akatsuki. And that he needs accomplices with better skills, because clearly you two pose no threat. " He turned, bent down and picked up Hinata's collar then walked away, not looking back.

The two sound ninja looked at each other then fled the village as if their lives depended on it.

_I can't believe that jerk. That was my kill, _Hinata thought in her head. _But then, why would I want to kill someone? That doesn't seem right at all...killing is bad. Yes...it is. What is wrong with me? I was...a beast. I hate it..._

Hinata turned the knob on the sink and watched the water flow down. She didn't notice Hidan in the room until she heard him gasp dramatically.

"What the hell happened to you?" He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it to her face. Hinata explained her side of the story as he stopped the bleeding.

"That's too bad,"he said when he finished. "Here, let me heal it for you." He sat her down and wiped a finger along Hinata's wound. It felt warm for a second, then cooled off when he finished.

Even when he was done he still didn't remove his hand from her face, but sat down next to her.

"You really are cute, you know." Hidan gave her a sly half-smile, and stroked her cheek gently.

Hinata blushed(I'm getting tired of writing those two words down) and looked down at her hands.

"Th-thank you for the c-compliment, r-really."

"You know...you could come to my house and stay with me." His hand moved to the back of her head, were it started smoothing her hair.

"I-I don't think Itachi would approve-"

"Who cares about Itachi? He only ignores half the time. That idiot didn't defend you at all when those guys attacked you. At least with me I could protect you."

Hinata let his words sink in. He was right; Itachi hadn't made a move when it happened. The only person he stopped from attacking was her.

"H-he was too far ahead. Of course he wouldn't see what was going on," she whispered desperately. Even though he could be rude and annoying at times, the rogue ninja still looked out for her. She didn't want to think or say bad things about him.

"He couldn't see or do anything because he left you in the first place!" Hidan stopped smoothing her hair.

Hinata couldn't take it anymore. _Why am I so upset over Itachi? Even worse, why am I defending his honor? _

"So how about it? You could have your own room, and..."He leaned close to her ear. "I'll be a better training partner for you. I'll give you anything you desire; more than Itachi ever could."

"Oi, stop going after her, pervert." It was Kisame, with Samehada thrown over his shoulder.

"Will you stop interrupting? Don't you have anything better to do?" Hidan glared at the shark man, who didn't seem to notice.

He looked at Hinata, who was trying her best to hide her face. "Okay, kid, me and Itachi are heading out for a mission tomorrow. Sasori will watch you while we're gone. Uh, are you okay, Kid?"

Hinata lifted her face from the sleeve of Hidan's robe and smiled sheepishly. " J-just fine Kisame."

Kisame shrugged, muttering under hid breath about ditzy kunoichis and 'Itachi's gonna beat the shit out of me for this one'.

"Do you need anything Kisame?"

"Er, yeah. Y'think you could prepare some lunches for us? It'll take about two days for us to get where we're going."

"Okay, six meals for each of you then. I'll get started."

"Thanks, Kid." He turned to walk out but Hinata remembered something.

"Where's Deidara and Sasori? I haven't seen them since dinner last night."

"Blondie and Pinoccio? They're on a mission. They'll be back in a couple of hours."

"O-oh. That's fine." Kisame left, and Hinata turned back to Hidan.

"Well? You don't have to decide now,"he said, placing her on his lap and wrapping his arms carefully around the waist. Hinata didn't seem to mind or notice this. She felt naturally comfortable around Hidan.

"I-I really don't know,"she gasped out, feeling his hot breath on her neck. _Things are going way too fast...I can't stop him. I don't want him to stop..._

It was at this moment that Itachi decided to walk into the living room. He didn't say anything as he passed them on the couch; he merely shot them an indifferent glance before going through to the kitchen. Hinata didn't notice it but he had glared at Hidan, flashing the Mangekyou for one second as a warning.

Hidan placed her on the couch once more. "Well, I have some paperwork to finish at the moment. But don't worry; I'll visit during the week to keep you company while Itachi and Kisame are on their mission. Later, beautiful." After a brief kiss on her neck he left.

Hinata sat there, too stunned to move.

Itachi leaned against the kitchen counter, eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest.

He had seen and heard the whole thing. And he didn't like it one bit.

Back in Konoha...

"Neji? What's wrong?"

Neji looked up. It was Tenten, standing over him as he meditated.

"Tenten, you're interrupting. I can't see why you always do that." Tenten merely brushed his words aside. Though Neji was a cold man, she always tried not to let his words get to her. She sighed.

"Neji, I've been your friend for what, seven years now?" Neji still chose to ignore her. "If you're worried about something, either you meditate or your left eye starts twitching."

Neji made a mental note to not underestimate Tenten. Her ability of perception rivaled that of the byakugan.

"Tenten, will you leave me alone if I tell you?"

"No,"she said honestly.

"Then I won't tell you."He raised an eyebrow, as if challenging her.

"I won't train with you then." She raised her own eyebrow, a saucy smile on her face.

"Hn. I'll train with Lee."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"He's on a mission with Gai."

"..."

"..."

"Neji...?"

"What?"

"Will you tell me?"

"Hell no."

"Oh well. I guess I'll just go out tonight by myself then. Maybe meet a cute guy, get my first kiss, spend the night at his..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed Neji was glaring intently at her.

"Wha... Neji!!!!!" She cried as he kissed her firmly on the lips. He sat back and smiled triumphantly. "Too bad, because I just stole your first kiss."

Tenten tackled him and managed to sit on his chest, her legs crossed in a very ladylike fashion.

"Neji Hyuuga, you will pay for this! Tell me now or else I'll sneak into your room while you are sleeping and cut off your ponytail."

Neji pretended look frightened. "Right, Tenten, it's about Hanabi."

Tenten tipped her head to one side. "Hanabi? She's your younger cousin, right?"

He nodded. "Hiashi's forcing her to stay locked up until she agrees to become heir."

"Huh," Tenten grunted. "Hiashi's an old fart."

"Yeah, anyway I need you to help me bust her out."

The kunoichi actually looked bored, her deep brown eyes staring at the sky. "That all?"

Neji nodded. "Yeah."

"Good, so when should I get started?"

"Tomorrow night. "

"Cool." Her eyes shown at the prospect of breaking into the Hyuuga compound and rescuing someone. Especially if it was the heiress. "You think I should blow up Hiashi's study? He keeps a whole bunch of Icha Icha books in his desk and safe."

"Tenten, that would be overdoing...how the hell would you know about Hiashi keeping Icha Icha novels in his safe?"

"... " :3 (this is the expression on Tenten's face.)

"That silence is payback for that kiss, isn't it?"

"Yeah"

"One more thing. Can you get off me?"

"No."

"You're heavy..."

**POW.**

At the Hyuuga compound...

Hanabi switched off her handheld game as someone knocked on her door.

"Come in,"she called softly. Surprisingly, it was an elderly Main Branch member by the name of Natsuko. She was holding a tray of food in her wrinkled hands.

"N-Natsuko? Go away! Father will kill you if he catches you! "

"Nonsense, pup. I can kick Hiashi's butt any day of the week. He just won't admit it. Now eat, or I'll force the food down your throat."She put the food on the bed and nudged it closer. "Go on."

Hanabi tentatively took a bite, then started chewing and swallowing rapidly.

"Settle down!" The old woman hissed. "Chew slowly. You'll kill yourself."

Hanabi nodded, her mouth still full.

"Oh, you look so cute like that!" Hanabi found herself caught in an enormous bear hug from the woman. _Help..._she thought as she was suffocating.

"Now keep eating. You should save your strength." She left and locked the door.

_Why is she acting as if she knows something I don't know?_

Hanabi was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard another knock on the door. "Who _is_ it?"

"It's me, Neji."

"Come in."

Neji walked in holding an ice pack to his cheek, which was red and puffing slightly.

"Neji, what happened? Did some woman catch you using the byakugan to spy on her while undressed?"

Neji glared at her. "That was last month, chibi-girl."

Hanabi's eyes widened. "You're not joking, are you?"

"You really are gullible. Anyway, I just came to check on you. We're freeing you tomorrow, if everything goes well."

"Okay, Naughty-Neji."

"Brat."

Hanabi grinned as Neji left. Before she left, she would make sure she got the ultimate revenge on her father.

"Remember, Akamaru, concentrate. Not even Shino's kikai bugs can catch her scent. Ready?" Kiba looked his dog brother evenly in the eyes.

"Yeah, I got it," Akamaru said perfectly in English/Japanese.(It depends on how you want the language) His voice sounded very similar to Kiba's. Summons or animal partners raised by a certain person sometims end up having a similar, if not the same voice as their caretaker. This doesn't apply to those who weren't raised by their human, like Gamabunta. It also doesn't work if the human and animal are different genders.

Shino glared at Kiba through his shades, annoyed at the remark about his kikaichu. The little beetles chirped indignantly, but calmed down after a while. "Kiba, the mission hasn't started yet. That can wait until tomorrow."

Kiba leaned against one of the upright logs that were used for taijutsu practice.

"You're right, but I just want her back as soon as possible. Do you have any idea why the Akatsuki want her? If they wanted the byakugan, they could have kidnaped a stronger shinobi like Neji."

Shino shook his head while Akamaru thumped his tail and looked away. He had an idea of what it was, but he knew the danger they would be in if he did tell.

"Akamaru, are you all right? You've been acting strange lately." Akamaru shook his head and told them he wanted to be by himself for a while.

Shino and Kiba stared after him as he walked into the woods and disappeared.

"What's up with him?" Shino asked.

Kiba didn't answer for a while. Then...

"Shino, you think you could-"

"Already a step ahead of you,"he said.

_I don't like lying to Kiba, _Akamaru thought sadly, oblivious to the five little beetles perched on his back.

Hinata wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked with satisfaction at the bento boxes of food she had made. She really hoped that Itachi and Kisame like it. _Maybe Itachi won't be as hostile to me if I prove my worth. _Ever since she came home she had switched into a baby blue t-shirt and white shorts. Nevertheless, it still felt very hot.

Flipping the switch of the little fan on the kitchen table, she turned it to the highest setting and dropped her head down next to it. Panting slightly, she closed her eyes and let herself relax in the cool wind. _This is more satisfying,_ she thought drowsily. _And dinner is done as well...maybe a little sleep... couldn't...hurt..._

"Hey, Hinata, wake up, yeah !" Hinata woke up and saw Deidara sitting in front of her, grinning at her.

"Deidara! How was the mission?" He shrugged. "It was good, yeah. I visited my girlfriend on the way back. She beat me up, then apologized and I had to take her on a date. Yeah, she's awesome."

Hinata couldn't keep from laughing after hearing he got beaten up by his own girlfriend. Then she felt a twinge of jealousy that Deidara had found someone special for him. She desperately wanted to know that feeling as well, but it probably would never happen.

"Hey, Deidara?"

"Un?"

"I just figured out an idea for a new jutsu." Hinata beamed.

"Really, yeah? Can I see it?" He looked interested.

Hinata walked over to the sink and wet a sponge until it was soaking. Waving her hand over it, the water gradually evaporated out of the sponge into her hand. She looked at Deidara. "Do you get it?"

When he shook his head she put the sponge in his hands.

"It's...completely dry...oh! I get it, yeah!"

"Maybe if I could-" Hinata broke off as Kisame interrupted

"Kid! You finished?"

Hinata glanced at him. "I have the food ready. It's all in that rucksack."(rucksack is backpack in U.K. English)

"Good. Anyway, I'll start your training as soon as we come back. Itachi told me about the fight. Didn't know you had it in you. He was mildly impressed."

Hinata erupted into a coughing fit. "He was _impressed?_" she choked out.

Kisame chuckled. "I said mildly."

"Wow," Deidara muttered. "Looks like Itachi _is _human after all,yeah. But what's with the fight, yeah?"

After explaining for the second time, Deidara had a look of total amazement on his face. "How did it feel, yeah?"

"I felt like a monster,"she said, covering her eyes in her hands. She didn't want them to see the tears.

Deidara shot Kisame an alarmed look.

"Hinata?" he said, turning his attention back to the kunoichi. "Maybe it's best if you stay in for a couple of days, yeah."

Kisame nodded. "Only for tomorrow, okay? Practice training in Sasori's backyard."

"Um, all right," Hinata said, wiping her face. "Where is Sasori?"

"Asleep. He nearly died on the mission, yeah"

"Can I go to see him?" Hinata was honestly concerned for him. She had grown fond of the puppet-master.

"Tomorrow. He'll be fine, yeah." Deidara smiled warmly at her.

Hinata got up. "Can I sit on the doorstep for a few minutes? It's hot."

Kisame waved his hand at the front door. "Whatever, just don't try and escape."

As she put her hand on the doorknob, Hinata sensed a familiar chakra presence behind it. _Itachi, _she thought. _Maybe I should just stay in my room..._

"Hinata, I know you're there. Come out, then." Itachi's low voice sounded through the door.

_Damn! _Hinata cursed herself for not being discreet. _Not that it would matter. He could probably sense me a mile away._

After taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and pulled open the door.

Itachi was sitting on the doorstep, gazing at the sky. He didn't even turn around.

"H-hello Itachi," Hinata stammered as she sat down next to him. On the far side of the doorstep.

"Hn. I'm not going to bite your head off. You don't _have _to sit so far away."

"O-okay." She slid closer until they were a foot apart.

"Um, it looks like it's going to rain soon." _Why on earth am I talking about the weather?_

"Hn. A storm. With thunder and lightning." Itachi's pitch black eyes never left the clouds as they floated lazily across the full moon. His thumb seemed to be stroking something in his hand.

"How do you know that?" Hinata asked carefully. She didn't want to anger him.

"Hn. I just know." _There he is, speaking in monosyllables again. He really hates me._

"I-Itachi?"

"What?"

"I-I'm sorry for causing t-that c-commotion today. I-I didn't m-mean to lose c-control." She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He made no visible movement.

"You did the right thing. I saw the fight." Hinata tensed nervously.

"H-how much?"

"From the beginning." Itachi finally turned his head away from the sky to look at her with his expressionless expression.

_And he didn't do anything? _

As if reading her mind, Itachi said:

"I wanted to see how you would fight back. You were okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. They were only chunin rank, not very tough." He turned his attention back to the barely visible moon.

Hinata avoided his piercing gaze. Itachi didn't seem to believe that she had been capable of handling a couple of chunin, let alone getting into the Black Ops. _Does he like putting others down? _she thought as she tried not to cry.

She trained her eyes at the small white cherry blossom tree next to the little fish pond. Something small rustled near the roots. As she idly watched the rustling turned out to be tiny bird chick. It let out a melancholy chirp every few seconds. Itachi did not say anything as Hinata stepped off the porch and crouched in front of the chick.

"Hello,"she whispered to the little bird. It was lavender, with white wingtips. "What are you doing here?"

The chick merely stared at her, it's shiny black eyes wide with curiosity. It didn't call out in fear as it had a few minutes earlier.

Hinata carefully gathered it into her hands. The bird wriggled for a few seconds, then calmed down as she slowly stroked it's head. She smiled as the eyelids drooped lower and lower until finally, with a contented chirp it fell asleep.

_What do I do now?_

A shadow fell her over as Itachi approached. "It's nest is over there," he said, his eyes directed toward the upper branches.

Hands still cupped around the chick, Hinata stood up next to him. "Where?" she asked.

"Here." He pointed again.

Hinata stood on tiptoe and held it gently next to the nest. A larger lavender bird(perhaps it's mother) eyed her suspiciously before moving aside and letting the kunoichi drop her offspring inside. Another bird, more reddish than lavender perched on a branch and observed them. When Hinata withdrew her hand the red bird nuzzled his lavender mate affectionately and settled into the nest beside her, the chick nestled between them.

While Hinata watched the winged family with a small smile on her face, Itachi couldn't help but wonder why she would bother to save a little life that held no significance to either of them. It was obvious that she gained satisfaction from her deed. _She has a weak heart. If she shows that kind of conviction during a fight, it could end with the enemy taking total advantage and winning._

"Hinata,"he said softly.

"Yes?"she asked, turning her gaze from the birds.

"Your collar." He held it out to her.

"T-thanks." As Hinata took it from him she felt a stinging pain, as if her hand had been zapped by a weak charge of electricity. _Must have been static, _she thought.

After she snapped it on, she looked at the ground, unsure of what else she should say. Hinata jumped when she felt Itachi's arms slide around her waist, pressing her closer to him.

"I-Itachi, please!"she gasped.

"Please what?" Itachi murmured in her ear.

"Unh" was all she could gasp out as Itachi's lips made contact with her cheek. Stroking her arm, he leaned forward until he kissed the side of her mouth. Since Hinata's head was turned toward him, he took the opportunity to plunge his tongue in, licking her bottom lip then pulling away. As this was happening, a slow spring rain began to fall, starting out with only a few drops every couple of seconds, then gradually began to fall faster, drenching them both.

Itachi, took her hand within his and led her underneath the white cherry blossom tree. Hinata did not resist; she felt entranced by the way he moved, yet afraid of the quietness he held as he pressed her against the tree. The red bird glared at them over the side of his nest, then gave his lavender mate a smug, almost knowing look before tucking his head back under his wing.

Itachi's narrowed red eyes stared into her wide purple ones before he bent his head and kissed her fully on the lips. It wasn't rough and possessive like the previous ones; this one was gentle and sweet, yet held a hint of longing. Hinata, like all the other times didn't respond. She didn't pull away either, but just stood there and let it happen. She moaned into his mouth when his hand brushed against her thigh seductively.

Itachi gave her a mischievous half-smile and smoothed the wet hair off her forehead.

"I-Itachi..." She suddenly looked tired, her eyes half closed and her legs shaking.

Itachi's head lowered. Hinata tensed, wondering what he was going to do when she felt a warm wetness on her neck, near her collarbone. She felt him slide the spiked collar further up her neck.

"Ah!" she gasped when she felt his teeth make contact with her skin. She shut her eyes at a sharp nip, then moaned in pure ecstacy as he began sucking on the same spot, his tongue occasionally running over the swollen skin. When he finally stopped, she pushed herself against the tree, her legs buckling. Itachi pressed her firmly against him, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head and his blood red eyes closed.

Breathless, Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned heavily against him. She hesitated, then rested her head on his chest. His own wet hair, sprung loose from the tie stuck to her face but she didn't bother to wipe it off. The pain in her lower body had appeared again; whenever she was close to Itachi it erupted into a wave of pleasure, yet she didn't know what it meant. She closed her eyes and fell asleep, one side of her face mashed against his chest.

After a long while of just standing like that, both opened their eyes at the same time.

Neither of them spoke for several minutes. Instead, they just stared at each other, Hinata trying her best not to meet Itachi's eyes. Itachi's black shirt was plastered damply against his chest, showing the outlines of his muscles. His pants were not much better off. As for his hair...it flowed down to just below his neckline, dripping water onto his shirt.

Hinata could only guess at what _she _looked like, in a light blue shirt and white shorts.

Itachi finally broke the silence. "I have to get ready for my mission. Let's go in."

Hinata gave him a tiny, shy smile, then nodded. The Uchiha seemed to hesitate, then opened the door and nudged her inside, his eyes hiding something in their black depths. When they walked into the kitchen, Kisame was busy warming up dinner while Deidara was snoring in front of the fan.

Kisame, knowing better than to question them took note of their wet, wrinkled clothes and turned back to the stove.

"Kisame, I'll get the food out," Hinata said kindly.

Kisame gratefully left the stove and sat next to Itachi. Reaching across the table, he poked Deidara hard in the arm until he woke up.

"Yeah! I'm sorry! I'll take you out tonight, yeah. Put down the hammer, yeah." Deidara snapped out of his dream and looked around.

"What time is it, yeah?"

"Dinnertime!" Hinata giggled.

"Yeah? All right!" Deidara broke into a goofy grin as Hinata set the food in front of them.

During the entire dinner Hinata did not once look at the Uchiha. She could nevertheless feel _his _gaze burning into her skin. She kept silent the entire time, and excused herself early.

That night, before she climbed in to bed she looked at the sore spot on her neck. It was dark and reddish, and she knew it would leave a scar. What ever happened that night happened on the spur of the moment. Both Itachi and her knew it had no real meaning. It was just something to satisfy his primal urges, nothing else. But only one thing was certain.

Itachi had marked her as his own.

8888888888888888888888888888

WHOA. That had to be one of the toughest scenes I've had to write. I feel...so dirty...I can't...believe ...I wrote... all that... asthma...pump...please...

Right, I know you all want nothing more than to storm my apartment and force me to write faster, or better yet kill me, but sadly folks you can't do that since you don't have my address. :P

I actually finished this days ago, then erased it and rewrote it. The old copy just wasn't working it.

And now my friends from school(you two know who you are) are going to tease me forever and ever about this. Sigh...

Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful reviews, they are the only things that keep me writing and not doing something stupid like cutting school. I love all my readers from the bottom of my heart, and please forgive me for the delays.

Narutochica ToT


	12. Training day

Hey, everyone, I'm back, I know you all miss me so you can now lavish me with your warmhearted hugs and greetings!silence

Rrr..

I said you can lavish me with your warmhearted hugs and greetings!cricket chirping

Sigh...better than I expected...enjoy the story...(sniff)

Disclaimer: Hmph. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san, who is awesome!

Training day

_Sunshine-_

_If you're reading this, then I've already left on the mission. _

_Don't do anything clumsy or stupid while I'm gone. If you _

_make any attempts to_ _escape, I will hunt you down and kill_

_you myself. If you're lucky. Try to stay away from Hidan and_

_train with Deidara, then show me how you have improved _

_when I come back. And don't get in the way._

_Itachi_

Hinata read the letter once, twice, then rolled her eyes. It was just like Itachi to expect the worst from her. _Jerk. Might as well do as he says. I'll get ready for my training right now. That'll prove how dedicated a shinobi I am._

Putting it back on the desk where Itachi had left it, she leaned against the headboard, hugging her pillow against her chest. _I can't help thinking about him...what's wrong with me?_ She fingered the mark he had left on her neck.

Sighing, she clambered off the bed and made several hand signs.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Rin-chan!"

Her favorite silver-blue otter appeared, half asleep and wearing only a nightcap similar to the one Naruto wears.

"Nnnn...what the? Hinata! You just interrupted my nap!" Rin padded slowly on all fours to where Hinata stood grinning.

"Well, you _are _a summon." Hinata reached down and scratched between her friend's shoulders, making her grunt in satisfaction.

"That's good. A little lower, please." Hinata obliged and scratched along the spine.

"Satisfied?"

"Yeah, of course Hina."

"Good, because I need you for training today."

The otter looked confused. "Training? You and Temari and Kamatari taught me how to fight. We know each other's moves."

Hinata smiled. "That may be so, but we may partner up for today."

"Um, Hina? Are you sure you should be training? You got hurt pretty bad," Her eye's dropped to the floor, then she looked up again.

"I could have prevented it if I were a better summon..."

Hugging her friend fiercely around the neck, Hinata told her firmly:

"You're only fourteen in your years. Of course you're too young for fighting like that. You did your duty and that was to protect me. I love you very much. Okay?"

Rin's whiskers twitched. "Okay."

"Nice. Are you ready?"

Rin's eyes brightened. "Of course! Just let me go home and get my stuff." She vanished in a puff of smoke. Hinata stared after her, a small half-smile on her face. A few years ago Rin had been the equivalent of a six year old when she first got her. Now, being seven in human years and fourteen in in an animal's, it seemed like she was growing up too fast. _But her growth will slow down to human years in a little while, then she'll be able to live as long as I could, maybe even longer._

Hinata quickly made her bed, then unwrapped the bandages to see how much her skin healed. It was still bruised in several places. Hinata knew wearing a bra would definitely hurt. Stretching her back, she winced when she heard a loud crack. _That fight from yesterday...I haven't trained in a long time and now my body is paying for it. Well, today I can finally let loose and show Deidara what I'm really made of. _

Smiling at the thought, she rapidly undressed and waited for the large tub in her bathroom to fill. It was big enough to fit five or six people. _If all the bedrooms are like this, then this place must have been an inn, or mini hotel of some sort... _When the tub finally filled, she gingerly stepped into the warm water. _This is way better than my apartment at home,_ she thought with her eyes closed. As she relaxed, her fingers traced the intricate shapes that were carved into the edges.

Unfortunately, some good things come to an end. Just as she was completely relaxed she heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey, Hinata! Time to train! After what you told me last night, I want to see you kick ass myself, yeah!" Hinata laughed, then called out that she would be out in a few minutes.

After throwing a bucket of soapy water over her head, she stepped out and dried of with a large, cozy towel from the rack. Then, she put on a brown tank top and black pants.

When she got downstairs Sasori was preparing pancakes(!) for breakfast.

"Sasori! Why didn't you wake me so I could cook?" Hinata thought he was in no condition to be up and about.

Sasori gave her a tired smile; he had only a few scratches on his face but he otherwise looked fine.

"I'm used to cooking; it just comes naturally to me. It's a lot better than being bedridden." He poured more batter in to the pan and waited several seconds before turning it over.

"Sasori?"

"Hm?"

"Is Akatsuki still going after the tailed beasts?"

After some hesitation, Sasori nodded. "Why would you want to know?"

"Just curious."

"All right." Hinata thought he was hiding something from her but she didn't press him.

Hinata's thoughts went to her friend Naruto. He had revealed his identity as the Kyuubi's host two years ago. It didn't change Hinata's feelings for him; rather, it made her respect him more. Her crush on him gradually dwindled away, but they still remained close friends. The thought of Naruto being killed for his demon scared Hinata; she may be with Akatsuki for now, but it didn't mean she would betray her friends. _But I already have, _she realized when she remembered what happened last night with Itachi.

Sasori's quiet voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hinata? We're eating now."

The Hyuuga rushed to help him set the table, her mind still buzzing over the events that happened since a month ago.

Just as they finished, Deidara came in with an armload of groceries.

"Finished, yeah?" He asked, eyeing the food.

"Yeah," Hinata answered back without skipping a beat.

"Remember, I don't want you eating too much right now, it's not good to eat a lot before training, ye-"

The whole room shook as a burst of smoke filled the room. It cleared to reveal Rin sitting on top of Deidara.

"Rin-chan, what on earth happened?" Hinata rushed to her summon, checking to see if she was all right.

"Er, I got the coordinates wrong on your location, and, like, accidentally landed on..." She looked down at Deidara. "This guy,"she finished.

"Yeah, uh, what about me? I have a 300 pound beaver sitting on me, yeah," a muffled voice came out from under Rin's bulk.

" Can't you tell the difference between a beaver and an otter?"

"Do you think I care, yeah?"

Sasori came and stood next to Hinata. "What's going on? Is Deidara breaking my house again? Last time, he blew up the entire fourth floor."

"There are only three floors here," Hinata stated, forgetting Deidara's predicament.

"Exactly," Sasori replied.

"Yow! Someone get this beaver off me! Yeah!" Deidara yelled from the headlock he was in.

"I'm a Giant River Otter, fool! If you can't see that I might not get off, dummy."

"Rin, you can kill him later. Meanwhile, will you join us for breakfast?" Sasori said politely.

"Um, yes, sir." Rin obediently clambered off Deidara and followed Sasori to the table.

"Why does she listen to him, yeah?" asked Deidara rubbing his sides.

"He never called her a beaver."

"Un."

When they walked into the kitchen they found Sasori kneeling next to Rin, who was crouched on the floor eating a pancake from a plate. Her tail was thumping the floor in a contented manner. Sasori actually looked happy; his hand was rubbing the silky fur around her ears.

"Do you like it?" He was asking.

"This stuff is wonderful! Can I have more please?" Rin asked hopefully. Her silver whiskers were covered in syrup.

"Of course."

Hinata and Deidara quickly finished off their pancakes. They waited patiently for Rin to finish her tenth; she just had a larger stomach than they did. When she was done, Sasori stood up and motioned toward the back room.

"Hinata, do you have all you need?"

"Yes, Sasori. Rin-chan has all the weapons I need."

"Good, because for you today is battle practice,"said Deidara. "All I need is my clay, yeah."

"Huh. What an ego." snorted Rin. Only the katanas were visible on her back, and the wakizashi strapped around her torso. _She probably has more weapons hidden inside and out of her body, _Hinata thought as she watched the otter go into a choking fit before plodding on. _I hope she didn't overdo it with the weapons..._

"Come on Rin-chan. Remember, this is a practice fight so please keep the bandages on all your blades " Hinata pleaded and gently dragged the summon outside to the back yard.

_Cute, but how could a beaver use a sword with short limbs? It doesn't even have proper thumbs! This will be easy, yeah,_ Deidara thought as he watched Rin pad out into the yard.

Sasori's back yard was a large expanse of green grass. At the far left corner was a bare patch of ground. _So this is the training grounds,_ Hinata thought.

"Deidara?"

"Un?"

"Rin and I are gonna wipe the floor with you." Hinata gave him a smirk identical to Itachi's.

"Heh. Kid, you can try, yeah."

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Itachi sat up, his red eyes glowing in the darkness. Beside him, a young dark-haired woman stirred.

"Something wrong,sir?" she asked lazily.

Itachi snapped off his sharingan before answering. "I was just restless,"he replied.

_Why am I always thinking about her? _he thought in his head. The woman beside him lay her head back on the pillow, her eyes closed.

Looking over at her, Itachi had a feeling she looked very familiar, but he couldn't match her resemblance to anyone else's. Smirking, he stroked her cheek gently, reminding her that he had no time for sleeping.

"Nnn...ready for another? For you, I'll make the next session totally free." Her voice was seductive again, smooth and unwavering."

"I think that would be just fine," Itachi said quietly, is smirk never leaving. He gazed at her for a few more seconds. Or, more specifically, at her long, dark blue hair. _She really does seem familiar ,_he thought.

"Well? Shall we?" The woman once again broke into his thoughts.

In response Itachi changed positions until she was right under him, his hands at either side of her head. When he once more looked down at her, he noticed that she suddenly looked...different. She was no longer the same woman from before, but another. Her body became smaller, her hair no longer waist-length, but shorter. What changed the most was her face. It didn't have as many sharp features as before; it was rounder and more childish. A kind, gentle face. The eyes that returned his gaze were no longer blue and filled with lust; these eyes were wide and lavender. Fear and shyness made up their depths, making his breath stop for a second. '_Oh damn her,'_

"That last time wore me out," he said straightening up. He slapped several bills down on the bedside table and pulled on his clothes. '_I was given the choice of using any woman in this place. Why did I choose the one that looked like her?' _Itachi watched the woman count the money._ 'Stupid kunoichi.'_

"On your way out, can you tell the next guy he can come in?" asked the woman still on the bed. Itachi just put up a hand as he left. '_Disgusting.' _

As we all know, folks, like any normal young man, his internal cravings had to be attended to. Yet, once they were, he found himself more dissatisfied as ever. As if something was missing.

'_Why her?'_

'_Why Sunshine?'_

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"Yaaaah!" Hinata yelled as she launched herself into the air from Rin's back. Seeing Deidara standing below her she threw a handfulof shuriken at him. She missed him by mere inches as he jumped backwards and launched a kunai at her. "Here I come!" Rin came from behind him and, grabbing a bo staff seemingly from nowhere aimed it at his head. Deidara dodged and counterattacked with a kick that knocked the summon several feet away.

"Deidara! Over here!" Hinata called. As Deidara turned she disappeared from view and reappeared behind him. _Perfect_ she thought as she jabbed a tenketsu on his back. "That's useless, little girl," he said mockingly. He was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of smoke. "Byakugan!" With her bloodline limit in effect she saw him creep up behind, a clay bird in his hands.

"Rin-chan!" she cried. The silver-blue otter bounded through the smoke. Hinata slid across her back and took the wakizashi from Rin's sash and, before turning her attention to Deidara whispered in her summon's ear "Unsheathe them now! While I distract him!"

Rin closed her eyes. "Partial transformation! Claws of the Demon!" Rin's paws became more hand-like, while a thumb grew on each one. Her blunt claws became longer and more curved. Her stubby limbs also grew longer, making her capable of faster movement.

Hinata, with the wakizashi held firmly in her hands slashed at the Akatsuki with all her strength. "Like that's going to work, yeah!" Deidara shouted.

"Hah!" she cried back, giving him a sharp uppercut with her left hand.

Meanwhile, Rin had retreated a fair distance away and made some hand signs, her eyes closed in concentration. "Mizu bunshin no jutsu! Water clone jutsu!" Several clones of herself appeared around her in a half circle.

Unsheathing their katanas, the Rin copies surged toward Deidara and swung at him. The original Rin quickly tossed the real katanas to Hinata, then made several hand signs. "Great mudslide!"

The summon's belly grew enormous, then shrank again as a thick spray of mud flew out of her mouth. Within seconds it changed the battleground from dusty, firm earth to a slippery brown wetland. Hinata concentrated all her chakra in to the katanas, then, ignoring the now-slippery ground dove toward the Rock-nin. The little bells attached to the hilts rang weakly as she brought the swords down in a sharp arc. The heavily bandaged blades struck the ground where Deidara had been before. As soon as they connected to the earth the strike left a large hole in the ground.

'_Damn. This mud is slowing me down.' _Deidara thought as he released several small clay birds at the Hyuuga. While he was occupied, Rin streaked in front of him and gave him a blow with the bo staff, forcing him to stumble. At the same time, Hinata was almost laid low by the clay bombs but ran away just in time. _'Huh. This girl is good after all.'_

Hinata kept a close eye on her summon's keirakukei, waiting for hidden messages that could only be detected by a Hyuuga's byakugan. Suddenly, a large amount of chakra flowed through Rin's tail. Hinata blinked, wondering if Rin had meant to send her the message that she did. Rin could signal for her to use a certain attack combination by sending a large amount of chakra to a specific part of her body. When Hinata saw it, they would immediately make their attack.

'_She's signaling for that move? Have it your way, my friend'_

As the Rin clones surrounded Deidara, Hinata began to release chakra from every part of her body, making the ground crumble around her. Pulling herself on to Rin's back, they ran toward Deidara at full speed. At the last second, the kunoichi melted into the otter's body, then they separated, both having went through a transformation.

Deidara looked on, impressed, at the two Hinatas before him.

"Well, Deidara, what do you think of us now?" One of them asked, flexing clawed fingers. The other grinned wickedly, baring pointed teeth.

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"Neji, for the hundredth time, I'm sorry." Tenten pleaded. Her teammate just rubbed his cheek and glared at her.

"You know, I wouldn't have punched you if you hadn't made that comment."

"Hn."

"Hey, you brought it on yourself by kissing me like that."

"Heh. But I stole your first kiss, now, didn't I?" He finally looked directly at her with his light purple eyes. Tenten noticed and blushed. _'I really can't stand him looking in my eyes. It makes me nervous.'_

The two of them were at the training grounds, Neji leaning against a tree while Tenten was throwing tachi and kunai at random targets.

"Are you feeling well? Your face looks a bit red." He allowed himself a tiny, knowing smile.

Tenten ran a finger along the edge of her tachi, thinking frantically of an answer.

"Um..."

"Hn?"

"Just some allergies."

"Weird. I never saw you with allergy symptoms before."

"They just turned up Neji."

"Right."

"..."

"What are we supposed to be doing again?"

"We're breaking Hanabi out of the compound." Neji looked at her from out of the corner of his eye. "You _will _be prepared to do this tonight aren't you?"

"_Yes _Neji. I'm not weak, you know." She turned around and tried to hide the annoyed look on her face by unloosing one of her hair buns and re-doing it. She felt slightly self-conscious as the long brown locks covered half her face.

Neji watched, transfixed. It only now occurred to him that he had never seen her hair undone before.

_Something must be wrong with her if she just does that out of the blue..._

"Tenten?"

"Hm?"The kunoichi half-turned toward him, but still kept rearranging the buns.

"You've been really tense lately. Anything wrong?" Neji grabbed her hand to keep it from re-doing the hair. "Well?"

Tenten blushed, her cheeks turning pink. "Er, thanks, Neji, but I'm fine, honest." _Perfect. Now I'm acting just like Hinata. _

Neji gave her a suspicious look, his eyes narrowed. "If you say so. Anyway, meet me here tonight at sunset."

Tenten didn't even turn around as she walked away. "Right, Neji. Sunset."

Neji stared after her, smirking. _It's probably that time of month again. I don't even need the byakugan to see what's on her mind._

"Neji!" It was Tenten, staring back at him with a flustered look on her face.

"What now?"

"It's not what you're thinking!"

"What amI thinking, then?"

"..."

"Heh." Neji smirked at her, hoping to annoy her even more. "See you later then." He leaned back against the tree trunk, his eyes closed. _She really is amusing at times, _he thought, while smirking.

Neji's eyes flew open again as he heard a _thunk _sound next to his ear. He turned his head a little to see a tachi embedded in the trunk a few millimeters away from his ear. A white ribbon was tied to it, the word _baka _written on it in bold marker.

_She's keen, all right._

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"This is booooooorrriiiiiiiinnng" Hanabi sang softly to herself. Being in solitary confinement was a drag, in the young Hyuuga's opinion. "I wonder if Tenten will let me borrow one of her bombs to blow up Father's Icha Icha collection?" Hanabi smirked. "That's how I'll get revenge on the old bastard."

Her stomach rumbled in agreement. _I haven't eaten in hours..._

Hanabi looked wistfully at the opened window, then sighed. Her father had placed a seal on it allowing anything but Hanabi to pass through the window. At least it allowed air in. She buried her head back on the pillow.

Neji had better come back soon...or else...

A soft thud made her look up. Something had landed on her bed. After a close look, she recognized it as a gourd with a cap on it. Lifting it up carefully, she opened it to find that it was full of water. Another object flew through the window, and this time she caught it. It was something wrapped in wax paper. She opened it to find a letter, and a large ham sandwich inside.

_Dear Hanabi,_

_Neji told me the plan, and it will take place tonight. _

_If you hear something like an explosion, don't be startled._

_Just wait for me to arrive. Anyway, I thought you might be_

_hungry, so enjoy. Please excuse my poor culinary skills._

_Your friend,_

_Tenten._

_P.S. Think we can blow up the old fart's_

_Icha Icha collection? _

Hanabi looked out the window to see Tenten standing under it. The kunoichi smiled, then disappeared as something large flew past her.

_Thanks, Tenten. I know I can count on you._

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Kurenai walked slowly to the village gates, wondering how she would break the news to her team. She knew they would be very rebellious, but she also knew it was the Hokage's orders. Turning her scarlet eyes toward the Hokage's tower, she thought about how upset they would be.

The gates were in view now. There were Kiba, Shino and Akamaru waiting there. Kiba, his eyes fiery as he gazed off into the forest, Shino, his expression she knew to be neutral under his glasses and Akamaru, pacing up and down like a caged tiger. _I'm gonna have a field day with this one, _she cried inwardly. _I really don't know if I'll make it out alive as soon as I break this news..._

"Kurenai!" Kiba cried as soon as he saw his sensei. "Are we leaving now?"

Shino didn't say anything, but just stared at his teacher hungrily, as if eager to hear her answer.

"Look, you three. Don't think bad of the Hokage for this, all right?"

Kiba groaned. "What now?"

Kurenai readied herself for the explosion. "She said we have to wait another month before we go looking for her."

"WHAT!?" This, of course came from Kiba.

"For what reason?" asked Shino calmly.

"She says that our relationship with Cloud is even more strained than usual. She needs many shinobi around if there is a conflict." She fell silent, wondering what else they would say.

Akamaru looked at Kiba, who was clenching his fists and staring at the ground. "Sso rhut do we do nowr?"

Kurenai rested a reassuring hand on Kiba's shoulder before replying:

"For now we stay close to Konoha. We are on defense now,okay?"

Akamaru nodded and looked toward the west where Hinata was. Shino, silent as always nodded. After what he heard, he didn't feel like talking. _Hinata...I wish you were here right now..._

"Come, all of you. The Hokage has assigned us a mission here in the Land of Fire. We must meet her in her office." She turned and walked in the direction of Hokage Tower.

One by one her team followed her, until one stayed, his gaze directed at the far west.

Akamaru lingered there a few more minutes, then turned and followed the others. _"Wherever you are...I wish you safety...and happiness..."_

_8888888888888888_

Hinata sat down on a large flat stone, panting deeply. Sweat rolled down her face as she leaned heavily on the huge katana in her hand. She felt her teeth and nails shrink and go blunt again. After sitting like that for a few moments she glanced at Deidara, who was leaning against a fence not far away. The hem of his robe was on fire, and he wearily beat out the flames before sinking to the ground. He didn't have any serious injuries, only a couple of scratches. The robe, however, was singed in many places.

"huff Deidarahuff you didn't have tohuff that was overkill with that last explosion." Hinata puffed out slowly.

"Huh. It was either that...or get sliced to pieces by you two, yeah. Look at this," He held up a lock of his hair. "You actually hacked off a chunk of my hair, yeah."

"Feh! Only an inch was cut off and besides, I'm the real victim here!" This came from Rin, who was huddled in a corner, facing the fence.

Hinata scrambled off the stone and hurried to her summon. "What happened?" She asked.

"A most horrible indignity that has been wrought on me," Rin whispered.

"Rin-chan, what's wrong!?"

"Look at this...my tail..." She held up her tail.

Hinata had to choke back a laugh as she saw the damage done. A large section of fur was burned and singed, leaving bald patches.

"Um, Rin-chan? You know that you will need to be shaved there."

"Yeah, Hina. I know. Oh, yeah, I also cut my tongue, and the inside of my cheek." She opened her mouth and coughed up blood.

"I knew it! You overdid it with the blades again, didn't you? That was too many weapons for you to handle!" Hinata quickly healed her tongue and cheek.

"Sorry, Hina, I'm still working on that technique."

Hinata sighed, then smiled. "It's all right. Just get everything out of your stomach and you'll be fine. And don't cut yourself doing it."

While Rin did as she was directed, Hinata looked at the many cuts on her arms. Even her pants were torn in places. _My training before I came here was nothing compared to what I just went through._

Deidara watched them with interest. _Well, even though I won, they still put up an excellent fight. The beaver wasn't bad either. Itachi's going to have a rough time with this girl when he comes back. _He looked around the training arena, noting the state that it was in. _Sasori won't be too happy when he sees this, but that doesn't matter right now._

"Right, Hina," Rin was saying. "I am _so _not returning until my fur grows back." She nuzzled Hinata's cheek affectionately, then teleported home where she would, no doubt, shave the burned fur off her tail.

"Well, that sure was impressive. Best fight I've seen in a while." Hinata and Deidara turned around to see Sasori sitting on a bench, his dark red hair messy from the wind. "However, now that I've seen what you're capable of, I would like to fight you myself. Maybe the day after tomorrow."

Hinata stared at him, her eyes wide. "You actually _want _to fight me? I-I feel honored." She bowed gracefully to him.

"Doesn't mean I'll go easy on you, but I won't kill you either. Besides, you two look tired, so come in now." He turned and held the door open for two exhausted shinobi, then entered himself.

"I ordered food, so you won't have to cook tonight, Hinata." Sasori pointed to several plastic bags on the table.

"Food, food, oh glorious food, come here unto me, yeah" Deidara sang while stuffing noodles in his mouth. Hinata laughed; the blond never failed to make her laugh. It was hard to believe he was a wanted murderer in several countries.

"Hey, Hinata? Didn't you want to try out that technique today, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"What technique?" Sasori asked.

"It's easier being shown than having it explain to you. Wait a sec, yeah." He dashed outside and came back in with a small tree in a flower pot.

"Hinata," he said putting the potted tree on the table. "Have enough chakra to demonstrate, yeah?"

"Yeah,"said the tired Hyuuga. She held her arm up toward the plant, her palm facing it and fingers slightly bent. After a few seconds, the leaves wilted, then turned from jade green to red, then yellow, and finally brown. As they crumpled and fell to the ground, it was noticed that the tree itself seemed to be getting smaller until the trunk grew dry and brittle. When it turned so thin that it could be snapped, Hinata stopped. "How do you think it would look if I tried that on an enemy?"

Sasori nodded slowly, impressed. "I see...dehydration...but where did all the water go?"

"I absorbed it all," Hinata said. "The only flaw is that it would take me an entire three minutes to finish off an enemy with this technique."

Sasori waved his hand dismissively. "The speed will come later, all you need to do is work on that technique, and you'll get it."

Hinata said a quick 'thank you' before collapsing on the floor. Deidara sprang to her side and picked her up, her breathing so weak she barely felt alive.

"She really gave it her all, yeah. Reminds me of my wayward niece, yeah." He smiled and turned to Sasori. "I'll put her on the couch, yeah. She can rest while we keep an eye on her condition."

_Yes..._said a small voice in her head. _You did very well..._

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'_Why Sunshine?'_

Kisame stumbled out of the bar, a bottle of sake in his hand. Feeling lightheaded, he made his way over to where he was supposed to meet Itachi.

_Where on earth is that guy? He's never late..._

A few minutes later Itachi appeared, looking tired.

"So, Uchiha, you went to the whores, didn't you."Kisame raised his eyebrows.

"Hn."

"You know only you could just seduce a woman by looking at her. I don't see why you bother with those sluts anyway."

"Hn." _I was trying to get my mind off her. I want no other relationship with a woman except for that kind-the kind that I benefit from. I have no other use for a woman around me._

"Anyway, we had better get to the hotel, don't you think? We need to finish this mission then go back within a couple of days."

"Hn. Fine. Lets just go." Itachi turned and led the way, the strips of cloth on his hat hiding his face. The little bell hanging off it rang weakly as he made his way through the crowds of the little town. Unsurprisingly, many people moved out of the way when they saw them coming.

When they got to the hotel the poor little manager fainted when he saw them coming. When he came to, he handed them their keys (he didn't charge them he was so scared) and bade them a good day.

"I'll go back out and get some food. We didn't eat anything since dinner last night." Itachi turned around to leave only to be stopped by Kisame.

"Wait, I already got food here." The shark man (heh heh) dug the bento boxes out of his bag. After reading the label on one he handed it to Itachi and kept another for himself.

Itachi opened his to find onigiri and ramen inside it. He picked up one of the rice balls and bit into it. The taste was hauntingly familiar. It wasn't bad; it was good, actually. Itachi was seldom impressed, but he was curious as to who cooked the meal. It was of his favorite foods.

"Kisame...where did you get this food?" He hadn't taken another bite since the first one."

"The kid-what's her name- Hinata made them for us."

"She cooked this?" Itachi stared at his partner.

"Yeah. Kid's good, isn't she? She even made us our favorite meals. That was kinda thoughtful of her." Kisame bit into his sardine sub with a satisfied crunch.

"Hn."

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Yay! Finally finished this chapter! pats self on back Anyway, I was reading stories on Fanfiction when I come across ideas that I had already put in my story. So you can imagine my utter horror when I see that some of these stories were written before I put this story on the site. Making me look like the bad guy. bashes head repeatedly to cactus Anyway, if I write any terms that are similar to those someone's already written, please understand that I don't read every single fanfic, and that I thought out this entire story a long time ago. Thanks for understanding, and thanks for the reviews, because they are what keep me writing. (Hint hint)

By the way, the story will go through a huge change in the next few chapters, so don't think that everything's going easy from now on between weasel-boy and sunshine. Be prepared...wtf!? It's 3 in the morning! This poor girl needs sleep...

Thanks so much,

Narutochica T T

p.s. If anyone wants to ask me a question about the story or guess the plot, they are more than welcome to. I won't give straight answers, but I'll pm an answer that should be satisfying enough.

I'll also apologize about the part with Itachi and that other woman, but seriously, what do you think a whole bunch of guys like them would do in their spare time? Most guys have carnal desires, right? ; )


	13. Another Training Day

Hello, Everyone! I know you all want nothing better to do than to stuff me in a garbage can and roll it down a hill, so I'll tell you at the end why I was so late updating. Oh, yeah, better news is I had a real conversation with the guy I like! holds up trophy. But enough with my personal life, on with the story!

Disclaimer. Naruto does not belong to me. It belongs to Kishimoto-san, who is forever awesome. And everyone who thinks he isn't can go take a long walk off a short plank.

Another Training Day

It was now the third day since Itachi and Kisame left for their mission. They were supposed to be coming back tomorrow afternoon. Hinata had slept the entire second day. Now, as she was dressing up for the new day, only one thought dominated her mind. _I will finally be able to train with Sasori. I wonder how he fights? All I know is that he's a puppet-master like Kankuro, but I've never seen him in action..._

When she got downstairs no one was home. _Weird...they're probably out shopping for food, I guess. _Opening the backyard door, she decided to just sit on the bench and wait for them. It was a nice, peaceful day...the kind that everyone just wanted to get out and do whatever they want. _It was never this peaceful in Konoha...I could get used to this. _

Her thoughts were interrupted when Hidan came and stood next to her, watching the sky also.

"So, babe, how have you been doing?" He drawled out.

_Babe? _Hinata nearly choked when he said that.

"I'm fine." she replied as politely as she could.

"I know you are," he said , giving her 'bedroom eyes'

This caused her to blush an even deeper shade of red than usual. "Th-thank you," she stammered.

_Oh. Kami. _

Hidan smirked inwardly when he saw her face turn red. _This chick's gonna be an easy lay,_ he thought. (Ha, as if Hinata-chan's like that!)

"Oi, Hidan! Stop trying to get in her pants, yeah!" Hinata turned to see Deidara glaring at Hidan, annoyance showing in his almond-shaped eyes. Hinata apparently didn't hear what was just said, so missed the point.

"Hello Deidara. Your hair looks nice," Hinata said. It was true; the former Rock-nin had let his hair down so that it reached halfway down his back. His bangs hung down over his face, yet both of his bright blue eyes were exposed.

"Mind your own business," Hidan snapped back. "I was only having a conversation with miss Hinata here."

"Un. Anyway, Hinata, are you hungry right now?" Deidara turned his attention back to the Hyuuga.

"No. I think that when I absorbed the water and nutrients from that plant, it restored my energy and healed some of my cuts." She showed him a newly healed wound on her neck.

"All right. Are you prepared for more training? You promised Sasori you would fight him, yeah."

Hinata stretched her arms and nodded. "Are we doing it here?" She looked toward the training arena, which was covered in mud and chunks of rock.

"I don't think so. We practically destroyed it yesterday, yeah." Deidara actually looked proud of his handiwork..

"You two fought yesterday?" Hidan asked curiously.

"Yeah. She's good as well. Nearly toasted me, yeah." He gave her a proud grin.

Hidan's eyes had widened when he heard this; obviously he thought the kunoichi was a weakling, but if what Deidara said was true, then he wanted to see her power for himself.

"You don't mind if I tag along and watch you fight Sasori, do you?" He asked, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"I'd love for you to come," she said before Deidara could say something nasty. Seeing as she was now crushed against him, she had no choice but to wrap her arm around his waist. Deidara raised an eyebrow questioningly at them but kept silent.

"So where is Sasori anyway?" _Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since last night._

"He's waiting for you by the lake. It's a secluded place where we like to train. Follow me, yeah."

Hinata was trembling with excitement. Fighting Sasori was something she had wanted to do since she met him. Sasori had always been quiet and reserved; he was the only one of the Akatsuki, besides Kisame, whom she had never seen fight before. As they left she packed several weapons with her, including the katana Itachi had given her. She carefully wrapped several bandages around the curved blade; it wasn't necessary to use a very sharp blade in a friendly match.

Hidan still kept his hold on Hinata as they walked out of the village. At a signal from Deidara, they streaked into the trees and traveled at top speed only five miles.

When Deidara stopped, Hinata nearly fainted when she saw the beauty of the place they were in. It was a lake, even larger than the first with clear water. Sakura and willow trees surrounded it, like a silk veil covering a bride's face. At the foot of each tree was a large bed of wild flowers; roses, violets, tulips, even daisies.

Sasori was standing just in front of the lake, arms crossed and an expressionless look on his face.

"I see you made it,"he said in an even voice. "I look forward to this match, Hinata."

"So do I." She dipped her head slightly to him. Deidara and Hidan looked on silently, their eyes never leaving the two opponents.

"Then we'll start right now." He bent down and unrolled a scroll in front of him. After a couple of hand signs, a burst of smoke appeared in front of him and cleared, revealing a five foot tall statue of a snakelike dragon, feathered golden wings spread wide. It was colored a brilliant gold, with a red ridge of hair running from between it's antlers to the tip of it's tail. Hinata gasped.

"I know that statue! It's usually in the corner of the living room." She remembered seeing it when she first arrived at Sasori's house. It had caught her eye almost immediately, but she assumed it was just a regular old statue.(It's mentioned in the chapter before last)

"Good eye. Except you're wrong about it being a statue. It's a puppet, made from a real Eastern dragon. Even more impressive, it's an Eastern dragon with wings, meaning that it was over one thousand years old. The older the stronger." Sasori said this with barely suppressed pride.

When she looked more closely at it she knew he was telling the truth. There were visible joints all over it, even hinges on it's jaw.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the dragon shuddered, then grew bigger until it was ten times larger than before. It's long, whiskered head lifted, facing the kunoichi. Afterward came the neck, slowly raising itself up, then the short, graceful arms and legs creaking in turn as the beast heaved itself to it's feet. The long mid section writhed, wooden joints knocking together.

Hinata kept a brave expression on her face as she watched it. _I'm unfamiliar with enemies like this...I didn't even know dragons existed...but it's really Sasori controlling this thing...I can see the chakra strings..._

The golden wings spread slowly, then folded. _I hope it can't fly..._

Knowing fully well she may not get out of this fight alive, she went straight for Sasori. Just as she was about to give him a good kick, the dragon's wooden tail flew down and blocked her from getting any access to him. The impact made clouds of dirt fly into the air, blinding her momentarily. As she dodged backwards, the heavy head came crashing down on the spot where she had been. Hinata watched as the head reared backward, exposing sharp dagger- like teeth. A black liquid oozed out of them. _Poison... or venom..._

Hinata concentrated her chakra to the katana, then brought it down upon the dragon's tail. It made barely a dent. Instead, the end joint of the tail flew off and dove toward the kunoichi. It opened up, revealing a long blade, dripping more of the black poison. The poisoned knife suddenly shot out like a bullet, passing right through her arm.

The weakened Hyuuga staggered, then regained her balance. _It's a fact. I will lose this fight._

"It won't kill you,"Sasori said from where he stood behind the dragon. "It paralyzes when it makes contact. If you don't forfeit you may be killed. I said I won't go easy."

Hinata flipped backward and landed on the lake's surface, the soles of her sandals skidding a bit.

The golden dragon spread it's wings and flew after her, making the water churn away from it.

"Summoning of the Sea horse (Dragon's Child)!" Hinata raised her hands in the dragon and horse hand signs and performed a series of arm movements, each flip of the wrist resulting in the water moving along with her. She then grabbed her katana out of it's sheathe and leaped at the dragon, slashing it's head and leaving a mark. The cool, clear water followed her in the forms of sea horses that wrapped their long tails around the puppet. These dragons weren't real, but they were like copies of the real thing. Whatever Hinata marked with the sword, they would immediately attack it. As the wooden dragon writhed to escape their grip, more sea horses wrapped themselves around it's wings, making it fall into the lake. While this was going on, the 'dragon's children' underwent a change. Soon the sea horses were no longer "baby dragons", but had grown into adult dragons. They were now transparent like glass, yet each intricate detail was clear.

Each dragon clamped it's jaws on to the puppet's snout, stilling it's movements. Crystal scales shone as they pulled the wooden dragon underwater, their struggles causing waves to splash on shore .While the water dragons kept the puppet in a bind, Hinata took the chance to rush at Sasori, a dozen of her creations gliding alongside her.

Halfway before she made it, her legs froze, causing her to fall on her knees. _The poison is taking effect..._ .Faintly she heard the sound of the puppet breaking past the water dragons. It's head and neck was rising above the surface, gallons of water pouring from it's joints. Most of the beasts had dissolved back into lake water, while the others were trying to protect her. _I knew I should have asked Rin to stay for this fight..._

Hinata rolled on to her back to see the giant head come crashing toward her again, the dagger teeth dripping with black venom. All of the water-based lizards tried to break it's attack but to no avail.

When her dragons melted back into nonexistence, Sasori's puppet made it's strike. Snow-white fangs scratched soft skin as huge jaws grabbed Hinata around the waist. With a vicious flick it threw the now unconscious girl into the lake.

As she sank ever deeper into the water, Hinata tried vainly to regain consciousness. But all she had was a mind gone blank.

_I can't die...not yet..._

_Then I won't let you..._

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10 hours earlier...

Tenten slipped through the uppermost branches, her black Chinese shirt blending perfectly into the night. She paused to rearrange the senbon in her hair, then jumped lightly to a lower branch. The kunoichi then scooted forward until she crouched on a low limb that jutted out over the training grounds.

Leaning forward a little, she squinted her eyes until she caught sight of Neji, just below her and another figure next to him. _Who the hell is that?_

"Tenten? I know you're there." It was Neji, his voice cold as usual.

_Sure. You can at least say hi or something. Arrogant jerk. _

"Yeah, Neji, but who's the person next to you?" Tenten dropped out of the tree and landed on the soft grass without a sound.

"This is my great aunt, Hyuuga Natsuko." The older woman stepped forward. Her brown hair had a single gray streak in it, and she wore it in a ponytail thrown over her shoulder. "Ah, yes, Neji's told me all about you. Something like a master of kinjutsu, right? Neji only said nice things." The old woman winked. _Damn. She looks only thirty,_ Tenten thought._ As beautiful as Tsunade._

"You say nice things about me?" Tenten looked slyly at Neji. Even though it was dark, she could tell the jonin was blushing. "Erm, well..." For once the pride of the Hyuuga clan looked uncomfortable. He shift nervously.

"Well, now that we have the introductions done, I want you to know that Natsuko is on our side in this."

"What!?" Tenten was shocked. This woman, by her looks was a member of the Main Branch. Her clothes were nicer than those of Neji and the other Cadet Branch members. Clearly, she was of a high rank in the clan.

"You can trust me." The woman spoke up quickly. "I plan on making it clear to the Hokage that the Hyuugas need a new Head."

"Alright. Cool." Tenten shrugged. Tenten didn't really care what the old woman wanted, as long as they rescued Hanabi nothing else mattered.

"Tenten, I want you to start the distraction now. Go to the compound, we'll be right behind you on foot. Use Tercel to get there fast. You got them?"

"Yeah. I had to borrow them from some of the jonin."

The way Neji said it, he sounded as if he were giving orders. _Clueless as always..._

Tenten sighed. "Fine Neji." Drawing blood on her thumb, she touched her palm to the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu! Tercel! Falcon!"

Two hawks appeared. Both were identical, with black heads and wings and a white underbelly. (Peregrine falcons, males are called tercels, females are called falcons) The male, Tercel let her climb astride him. Falcon, the female stood there quietly as Tenten dropped a bag in front of her.

"The small bombs, in case Hanabi needs them. Falcon, will you please tell her how to make them go off?"

Before she could order Tercel to set off, Neji leaned across the bird's neck down to keep it from flying away. "Be careful," he whispered in Tenten's ear.

"You don't have to worry about me, Hyuuga. I _can _take care of myself." She said it gently, not wanting to upset him.

"Hn."

Neji released Tercel and watched them disappear into the sky. He turned to Falcon. "Tenten told me to follow your orders." she said in a superior voice.

_This one sounds like Anko...I wouldn't be surprised if this summon belonged to her._

Neji nodded. "Wait a few minutes before leaving. Falcon, I want them to have a good start."

"I have a real name, you know," The hawk muttered.

"Can't you just be a good summon and do as you're told?" Neji turned away from the hawk's steely glare and watched the speck that was Tenten and Tercel in the distance.

_Tenten, whatever you do, just don't let Hiashi catch you. He'll kill you without hesitation._

"Soooo," said Natsuko breaking into his thoughts. "Is she your little girlfriend? You seem to worry about her a lot."

"No, aunt, she is _not _my girlfriend!" Neji almost shouted. His face was flushed, and turning redder by the second.

"Okay, I believe you. It's just that, if you didn't have a relationship with her, you wouldn't have freaked out like that." She shot him an amused look. "My byakugan can read your thoughts, you know."

"Cheeky old hag," Neji muttered under his breath.

"Why you little-" Grabbing him tightly by the ear, she led him(protesting) out of the training grounds, mumbling things like 'kids these days' and 'disrespecting elders.'

_What a sap. _Falcon thought as she watched a grown man being punished by an old woman. _Too bad Anko wasn't here to see this._

(Just so you all know, I like making Neji suffer like this. But I'm still a Neji fan :3 )

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Sasori flicked one of his chakra strings, making a door in the dragon's chest slide open revealing a hidden compartment. Several metal spikes were sticking inside it from where they went through holes on the wooden puppet's chest and back. A few of the spikes were in so deep that they came out the other side, blood drying fast on the ends of their blades. The dragon's head had more spikes sticking out of it's mouth, impaling the chest even further. The compartment was dark, revealing not it's contents. The darkness itself seemed to hold a danger to any who entered.

The Akatsuki present stared at it, almost hesitant to go closer.

"You think the "Puppet Theater" killed her, yeah?" Deidara whispered as he stood in front of it.

"I wouldn't know," Sasori replied. Deidara didn't say anything; he stepped inside the dark compartment and rummaged in there for a second, grunting when he cut himself on a spike. After a few minutes he climbed out, a small body in his hands.

It was Hinata. Her forearms were a light purple color, as if someone had put lavender paint on them.

Blood was leaking slowly out of deep cuts along her legs and torso. Her head hung limply, as if her neck had been broken. Deidara stared sorrowfully at the girl in his arms. She was now a complete mess, both inside and out.

"I had no choice. It would have been the end of us if I hadn't done that." Sasori didn't take his eyes off her as his partner laid her gently on the scored, torn up ground.

"She was such an innocent person; I never thought she could have caused so much destruction, yeah." Deidara said sadly. He looked around; in their immediate area, there were several uprooted trees. Clumps of grass and crushed rocks littered the ground while the earth was dug up in various spots. The ground that they were standing on was completely bare, and deep furrows marred the crushed grass.

He redirected his gaze at the kunoichi. She now looked peaceful; her eyes were closed as if asleep, and she looked as if she were smiling.

Sasori bent down next to her and lay his hand lightly on her belly. After several seconds, his eyes widened. Hidan watched him intently; he hadn't said anything the entire time, instead preferring to watch the events unfold before him. He was impressed, though. That girl would have killed him with no trouble at all.

"She's not dead." Sasori moved his palm over her chest and examined her face.

"How do you know, yeah?" Deidara asked, a note of hope in his voice.

"Her arms are returning to their normal color, and I can feel her breathing." He lifted her into his arms. "We need to take her back right away. All she needs is rest. Now that she's shown us her true power, we know we won't have to do much healing."

"She has all these slashes and bruises all over her. They'll scar. She may never-"

"Don't be ridiculous. They'll heal. It's not like she's particularly vain about her looks. It's that she's a self-conscious person. To make up for her 'lack of beauty', she probably trained long and hard. When I was taking care of her after that fight with Itachi, I noticed she was already covered in old wounds." Sasori brushed some hair out of her face. "I can see her for who she really is. She is one who is unable to see the beauty inside and outside herself. She is strong and weak at the same time."

Deidara looked shocked for a quite a few seconds, then recovered himself. _Looks like I keep underestimating her_..._if she keeps training like this, she could overpower most of us...except Itachi. I would love to see her get that strong, yeah._

Sasori had meanwhile started running off in the direction of his house, the unconscious kunoichi in his arms. Deidara, after a few hand signs made the dragon puppet disappear into the scroll and picked up the rest of Sasori and Hinata's weapons. When he was done, both he and Hidan left.

As Sasori burst into his house, the first thing he noticed was that his dragon puppet was back in it's usual spot. The second thing was that the lavender hue on her arms had faded away. He felt relieved. After what he had just witnessed, he knew that she needed to be watched constantly. _Itachi really is going to have trouble with her._

He quickly removed her clothes and was almost shocked by the amount of damage done. Without wasting any time he healed all the wounds, then wiped the dried blood off her with a damp towel. When he was finished, he dried her off and laid her in her bed. After putting a quilt over her, he went downstairs to tend to his own wounds.

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_Hinata's mind was plunged into darkness. Once again, she tried to call out to the beautiful voice that had addressed her._

"_Please...don't leave me alone..." _

"_I couldn't if I wanted to..."_

"_At least tell me who you are, then..." Hinata pleaded._

"_Er, just call me your conscience for now."_

"_U-um, all right." Hinata had no idea what was going on, but she was grateful for any kind of company._

_Her 'conscience' was silent for a few minutes, then spok_e _up again._

"_Why don't I make this easier for us to talk, okay?" _

"_Y-yes, please do." _

_The darkness slowly lifted, revealing a bright forest. Hinata found herself lying on her back on the forest floor._

_Sitting up, she looked around at her surroundings. There were nothing but tall oak and willow trees in every direction, making her look small and insignificant in comparison. _

'_What is this place?' Hinata thought. In front of her, a bright light shone. Just seeing it made her feel warm and comforted. _

"_Just follow this light, trust me." _

_It was the beautiful voice again, this time coming from the direction of the light._

_The kunoichi struggled to her feet, her legs almost buckling from the shock of being in a new environment. After regaining her balance, she limped toward the light while shielding her eyes from the brightness. _

_The willows that were on either side of the path brushed her shoulders lightly as she followed the voice, encouraging her to come even closer. A few minutes later the path widened until it revealed a large clearing, surrounded by oaks. In the middle was the largest and most beautiful willow she had ever seen. The trunk was of a light gray color while the leaves shone silver, a few of them pink._

_This tree was the source of all the light, for it was shining through the hanging whip-like branches. Hinata hesitated, then carefully pushed aside a curtain of branches and stepped inside the space where she could see the entire trunk. There was an outline of a woman on it that was glowing. Hinata stared at it, awestruck. It was as if someone had carved a picture of a woman in to the tree._

_More curious than scared she watched as the figure stepped delicately out of the trunk, becoming three-dimensional and real. She looked Hinata up and down._

"_I've been waiting to meet you for a long time, you know."_

_Hinata could only gape. If her outline was beautiful, she looked tough, yet gorgeous in her solid form. She was dressed mostly in white. She had on a short white leather skirt with a silver chain going across the front. Underneath her close-fitting white jacket was a white tank top that exposed the flat stomach. On her arms were elbow length lavender gloves with matching leather boots._ _A_ _black collar was around her neck._

_Her facial expression was calm and cool, so noble that Hinata found herself unable to look her in the eyes more than a few seconds. The woman's eyes were midnight black, almost the same as Itachi's. But what shocked her the most was her hair. It was spiky and snow white, a long lock of it falling over half her face. She smirked._

"_Well?"_

_Hinata wasn't paying attention. She was busy wondering what this woman was. _

"_M-miss, who exactly are you, and what am I doing here? Are there any other people in this place?" _

_The woman tipped her head to one side questioningly. "People? What do you mean by 'people'?" _

_Hinata worked up enough courage to reply, her voice quavering. "You know, people. Like me and you."_

"_I don't get what you mean." The woman scratched behind her ear, eyes half closed. When she finished she gave Hinata another confused look. _

"_Humans! Men, and women like you and me."_

"_You're a woman? I'm a woman?" Hinata stared at her, baffled. Did this woman ever come in contact with another person before?_

"_U-um..." Hinata couldn't find anything to say. Despite her appearance of a woman in her twenties, she seemed like a child in an adult's body. _

"_Oh. Of course you're a woman. How careless of me, I should have realized." The snow-haired woman nodded in understanding. "But you however assume I'm a woman."_

"_Um, b-but that's because you are one. You look and speak like one."_

_The woman's jaws parted and her lips widened, exposing all her white teeth. It took Hinata a few moments to realize she was laughing, yet she did it in such an odd way._

"_You must be mistaken, for I am not a woman, and neither am I human. At the moment, I may resemble a woman to you, just as , to me, you look like a -" She broke off, seeing the upset look on the young Hyuuga's face. "What's wrong? Why are you sad?"_

"_Please, I want you to take me back to where I was...I-I am so confused right now. Please..." Hinata sank to the ground on her knees, her head in her hands. Her breathes came quick and sharp ;it was obvious to see she was in pain. _

"_My lungs...are on...fire,"she whimpered weakly. "I can't breathe..."_

_All the while the woman gazed down at her, a look of determination crossing her face. After a few seconds she knelt down and gave the suffering kunoichi a lick on the cheek. (_Yeah, I know that sounds wrong but it'll make sense if you understand what's going on)

"_Just let me take care things for now. You rest now." She barked out that order and with a turn of her heel brushed through the curtain of branches and disappeared._

_Hinata writhed in pain for a few more minutes, then sighed deeply as it died away. Finding herself in a state of exhaustion she settled into the bed of grass and fell asleep._

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Hinata woke up to see a very familiar face above hers. "I-Itachi? Y-you're back?"

She noticed she was in her room again, on her bed. A thick quilt was covering her, and she felt warm and relaxed. She also noticed she wasn't wearing clothes underneath the quilt. _Maybe Sasori just wanted me comfortable as possible..._

The eldest Uchiha looked down at her, a look of concern passing over his face before it was replaced by it's usual bored expression. "Hmph. You've been out for a while now."

"I was unconscious _again?_" Hinata groaned. How many times had she fallen unconscious since Itachi first kidnaped her?

Itachi nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. "Ever since we brought you here, you seem to have an annoying habit of getting knocked out or fainting, you know. Pathetic."

"I-Itachi, I really tried my best. Deidara and Sasori said I was good." Hinata whispered. She drew the blanket up to her chin.

Itachi seemed to sense her discomfort, for his harsh words didn't stop.

"Look, _Sunshine,_ I don't care what they think. So far as I'm concerned, Sasori and Deidara are too weak and soft to be of any challenge."

"I-Itachi..."

"If you want to join the Akatsuki, you can't be weak. I can't see how you became a chunin at all if all you do is faint and mess up. Are the Leaf taking in weaker ninja now, or what?"

"Itachi, I never said I..."

Itachi silenced her with a glare. Even without the sharingan, his black eyes alone were able to scare her.

"You will never become an Akatsuki if you keep going the way you are now." Itachi's voice was edged with malice, as if he was trying to upset her even more.

That did it. Hinata's head snapped up in anger and she glared at the Uchiha. The look he was giving her was the same look her father always gave her; it was a look of disgust, annoyance, and hate.

"Look, Itachi,"she said in a low voice. She sat up and the blanket slid off her body, but she didn't seem to notice. "I didn't even volunteer to join, I got kidnaped by you. My life was going just fine before you came butting in. It would have been a hell of a lot better you hadn't frickin-" Hinata stopped herself from speaking further, but Itachi could tell.

He knew her last two words to him would have been 'killed Shisui.' However, he couldn't let himself be intimidated by a naked kunoichi.

Instead of killing her like he wanted to, he replied calmly;

"Your life would have been a lot better if you weren't a complete failure of a kunoichi. I can see why Hiashi wanted your sister as heir." He watched closely to see her reaction.

Hinata just sat there and stared at him, eyes wide. _He's right...none of this would have happened if I hadn't been so unprepared and weak..._

Itachi watched as Hinata pulled the quilt to cover more of her body, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to spill out. He smirked. _Damn kunoichi is too emotional for this...my brother has way more potential than her...she doesn't even know the real reason we took her in..._

"Hinata...remember rule number 25? How ninja are never, ever supposed to show their emotions?" He leaned forward until his face was an inch away from hers. "You have no place of honor in the ninja ranks. The only one who had faith in you at all was Shisui. And look at what happened to him."

Hinata tried to speak, her voice muffled.

"Y-you m-mur..murdered..Sh-Shisui..."

"Want me to show you how I did it? What happened that night? His dying words?" Itachi smirked again. His mangekyou was slowly appearing, the black pinwheel spinning rapidly.

Hinata covered her eyes with her hand and clutched tightly at the quilt. "I-Itachi...do you like hurting others? Shisui was my closest friend...a-a monster like you can't understand." Her voice was shaking uncontrollably, tears spilling onto the sheets."

If Itachi were any other person, he would have frozen in shock at what the usually sweet-tempered girl said. But, being Itachi, his eyes only widened a fraction of an inch before he replied;

"I would watch what I say if I were you, _Sunshine."_

Whether she heard him or not, he didn't know. However her sobbing increased as she hugged a pillow closer to her body.

Itachi let himself calm down for a bit. For some reason, he felt enraged when Hinata spoke so lovingly of his older cousin. But what really pissed him off was when she called him a monster. Normally, he could take being called names and just kill the person afterwards, but Sunshine calling him a monster? She really must have been upset to do that. Still, being called that awoke an unknown feeling in his heart.

"Hinata..." Itachi laid his palm on her hand but she jerked her arm away, still refusing to look at him.

"G-go away. I-I can't bear to look at you. P-please...just leave..."

_I can't believe she said that...no one else has spoken to me like that before. _Itachi watched the crying girl. After a few minutes he reached over and, grabbing her chin firmly between his thumb and index finger turned her head to face him. Even when she was facing him she kept her eyes tightly closed.

"Hinata. Look at me." Hinata flinched at just hearing his voice.

"N-no! I don't want to see..." She was more calm now, but tears were still leaking out of the sides of her eyes. Itachi let go of her. The moment he did her hands flew up to cover her face.

"Hinata. Open your eyes. I won't use the mangekyou." Itachi's voice sounded different than before. It wasn't as cold and harsh, but it still made her fear him anyway.

"N-no. Please don't..." She was now whispering.

Itachi sighed. "I won't. Trust me. I won't have it activated when you open your eyes."

When she made no reply, he leaned closer to her ear. "You can trust me,"he repeated in a softer tone.

He gently grabbed her wrists and lowered her hands from her eyes. She still had her eyes closed. She opened them slowly, expecting to see the bloody red of the sharingan. Instead, midnight eyes met lavendar ones as she looked him fully in the face. Itachi's expression wasn't one of hostility anymore; rather, his was neutral as he leaned closer. After a minute of just staring each other in the eyes Itachi lowered his gaze and pushed his chair backwards, looking instead at her hands that were still clasped in his.

_I can't even look her in the eyes..._

"Um, w-what did you w-want with m-me?" She slowly pulled her hands away from his.

"Leader told me to take you on my next mission."

Hinata nearly jumped when she heard that. "B-but why?"

"We need a woman for this one. We have to get information out of someone, and it would work better if we had a woman to do that part."

Hinata paled. She had heard of _those _missions. Kunoichi had extra ninja training for a reason. On some missions in which information had to be gathered(from a man of course) a kunoichi was used. When things got too desperate, kunoichi, instead of using their fighting skills were expected to _entice _the information out of him, whether it be by flirting or having sex with him. Hinata had never been given one of those missions before, and she was grateful for that. Nowadays, most kunoichi just beat the guy half to death, _then _ask for the information. _It'd be a lot easier doing that._

Itachi broke into her thoughts. "Can you play any instruments?"

Hinata nodded. "Shamisen, guitar, and sitar."

Itachi nodded. _What the hell's a sitar? _"Good. This guy likes music. All I want you to do is play some songs, sing a bit and flirt with him."

Hinata looked down at her fingers. "I-I don't want to do this mission,"

"Why?" Itachi cocked an eyebrow, but kept his voice calm all the same.

"I-I never had these sort of missions. U-um, I'm not ready..." She glanced up at him again, wondering how he would react.

Itachi just stared at her for a full minute before understanding dawned on him.

"You are a baka, you know that?" Hinata didn't reply. "If things get too rough, beat the guy half to death, _then _ask for the information. It's a lot easier, and most kunoichi do that anyway." He said this, echoing her exact thoughts.

"And..."he leaned closer. "Don't you _dare _go too far with him. Understand?"

"Y-yes, Itachi." Breifly she wondered why Itachi would be so concerned about her doing that. She remembered the mark he had left on her neck; was he being possessive.

"Good. Change now, we're all going out to eat."

"W-why?"

"Well, our cook seems to be too injured to be of any use right now, so we need to go to the bar for dinner." Hinata knew who he meant by 'our cook'. Itachi walked toward the door. He turned around and seemed to hesitate before saying:

"The food you cooked for my mission...it was...nice."

Hinata gaped as he shut her door. That was probably the third time he ever said anything to her that even resembled a complement.

_Don't flatter yourself...it's not like he meant it._

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"Tercel, can you please take us to the side of the forest facing the compound?" Tenten spoke politely; The hawk summons were sticklers for manners and politeness.

"Yes, Tenten." With that he spread his wings slightly and glided over the area specified.

"Good, please circle around here."

As Tercel circled around Tenten reached behind her back for the scroll she had snapped in a harness there. Pulling out a section of the scroll, she searched until she found what she was looking for; a flash bomb that would make a loud noise, but not do any damage.

"Tercel, are you ready? This might startle you a bit."

"I know. My master Aoba already taught me how to do this."

With that the hawk dove lower until he was about thirty feet above the trees.

"Drop it. Now." He commanded.

Tenten let the bomb fall from her hands and watched as it made a loud boom, accompanied with a brilliant flash of light. The place where they dropped it would alert only the Hyuugas and distract them from anything else. The forest glittered in light for a second before dimming.

"Nice, Tenten. Now, the rest is up to the Falcon. I can see her making her way to the other side of the compound."

Tenten squinted. He was right; she could see a tawny-ish speck soaring right above them, mimicking Tercel's movements. After it heard the blast the other hawk flew off toward the compound.

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Hanabi sat bolt upright as soon as she heard a loud explosion coming all the way from the other side of the compound. Sliding off her bed, she activated her byakugan and looked through her bedroom door. All over the place she saw all her relatives running out of their houses, toward the south gate that led to the forest. Hanabi's room was on the side of the west gate, so she could hear almost everything.

Heart pounding, she drank some water from a canteen and sat on her bed. Tenten said she would break her out. She only hoped the older kunoichi didn't get hurt. After five minutes of just sitting there she heard a tapping sound at the window. When she turned around she saw an enormous hawk hovering outside her window.

When she got close to the open window the hawk tossed a small bag through with her beak.

"Excuse me, but are you a Hanabi Hyuuga?" When Hanabi nodded the hawk clicked her beak.

"Good, good. Call me Falcon. Tenten gave me those bombs to give to you, in case you wanted to blow up 'the old farts' study."

"R-really? Thank you. But I won't be able to escape, not with the window and the door sealed. I can't even use the bombs, I might kill myself." Hanabi gave the hawk a desperate look.

Falcon sighed. "I already thought of that. Go stand in that far corner." Hanabi grabbed the bag and did as she was told.

The falcon disappeared from the window and flew off. After a minute she dove through the wall, breaking through the seal and destroying it (and the window ) in the process. Ignoring the dust that gathered in her eyes she continued the dive and crashed through the door's seal into the hallway.

Hanabi stared, eyes wide at she had just seen. Stepping over the rubble that used to be the wall she ran through the doorway to look for the bird.

"Falcon? Are you all right?" She couldn't see through all the dust. After the dust cleared she saw the hawk roll onto her stomach and stand up, shaking glass out of her wings.

"F-falcon! Your beak broke off!" It was true; a quarter of the hawk's long curved beak had snapped off when she flew through the door.

"It's all right. I knew this would happen. Besides, it'll grow back in a few weeks, just like a human nail."

Seeing that the girl felt guilty, she bent down and nudged her with her head.

"Just go and do what you have to do. I'll wait here. To set off the bombs, pour some of your chakra into them and throw it."

Hanabi ran down the hall and found her father's study. On his desk were several documents that she had never seen before. She put down the bag and picked them up, her eyes getting more blurry at each sentence she read.

_No...not Hinata...and what about Mommy?_

_No wonder everybody hated them...and it's all my fault...if I hadn't been born this never would have happened..._

Wiping away the tears that were sliding freely down her cheeks, the younger Hyuuga rummaged until she found one of her father's manilla envelopes. Picking them up as carefully as she could, she slid each paper inside until it touched the bottom. Then, folding the top over she took the string and wound it so that it held the envelope closed.

Hanabi stared at it for a few seconds, then turned around and walked slowly back to Falcon, the envelope clutched tightly to her chest.

"Hanabi?" The hawk looked questioningly at her.

"Um. I-I don't need these bombs after all. Tenten might have more use for them."

"All right."

Hanabi suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she was about to attack when she saw it was Neji.

"What are you still doing here? Go away, now!" He whispered urgently.

"Falcon...thank you.." He said, bowing respectfully.

The hawk nodded, then stiffened when they all heard the voice of Hiashi from downstairs.

"Everyone, go check and make sure she's still there! We don't want the heiress to escape!"

Falcon whirled and, snatching Hanabi(still holding the envelope and bag) in her talons flew out the hole she had made earlier. Neji hopped out and hid in the forest.

As they rose higher and higher into the air Falcon let go of her. Hanabi fell for only a few seconds before the hawk flew back under her so that she landed on her back.

"Sorry, but it's easier to carry you this way."

"Thanks Falcon."

A shadow rose next them, and Hanabi recognized Tenten standing, hands on her hips, on another hawk as it was flying parallel with Falcon.

"Well, Hanabi, looks like you made it after all." She grinned as the younger kunoichi whispered a small 'thank you' before falling asleep.

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Itachi leaned against Hinata's door and sighed, feeling frustrated. For some reason, he felt as if he wasn't done talking to her.

_She has no idea of what happened today. I'm certain of it. She thinks the fight was finished when she sank into the lake..._

_when really, that was just the beginning..._

He faintly heard the shower snap off as she stepped out of it. He waited ten more minutes, then opened the door to see the Hyuuga in blue jeans and a sports bra. She was busy trying to put on a short-sleeved shirt, but every time she tried to move her arm to slide it into a sleeve, she winced in pain and was forced to lower it.

"Need help?"

Hinata whirled around, nearly fainting when she saw Itachi leaning against the door casually. He was wearing a mesh shirt and his usual black pants.

"I-Itachi! Um...no, I can..."

Itachi ignored her protests and turned her around so he could see her back. Putting his hands on her shoulders he transferred a relaxing flow of chakra into her arms to relieve any pain. While he was doing this, he made sure to look closely at her back. Lower down, between her shoulders and the small of her back he saw what looked like a small tattoo. It was of a purple flower, a rose. Surrounding it in a triangle were the kanji for 'water', 'earth', and 'wind'. There was an empty spot between the 'water' and 'earth' kanji, and another empty spot between the kanji for 'earth and wind'.

_Three of the ninja elements,_ Itachi thought to himself.

"Hinata."

"Y-yes?" The kunoichi seemed close to fainting that Itachi was standing so close to her.

"How long did you have this tattoo?"

"Um, ever since I was a little kid. Father said the flower was supposed to give me good luck. He said the rose symbolized a mother's love for her child."

"Hn. Your mother died?"

"Yeah. I was given the tattoo just after she passed away."

Hinata didn't say anything as he helped her into the shirt. After that she tied a sweatshirt around her waist.

"Um...Itachi?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry for calling you a monster..."

"Hn. Whatever." As he grabbed her arm and dragged her impatiently downstairs, Hinata wondered if, perhaps, Itachi was just a person as misunderstood as she was.

'_Feh. Hinata, I wouldn't count on that,' said a voice in her head. _

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Oh dear. I suppose I have a whole lot of explaining as to why I was so late in updating. You see, my parents dragged me away from my laptop and made me go with them (and the little brats) to Washington D.C. for memorial day weekend. Luckily, I snuck the laptop with me and, after having it taken from me from airport security and then getting it back, I finally managed to get some work in. And all because I forgot to take it out of my carry on luggage for scanning. At least they didn't take it apart or anything...oh, yeah, and I also missed the latest episode of Naruto! sob

And so, I humbly bow on hands and knees before my loyal readers in apology for this late update. I got in very late last night, and needed to finish off this chapter. Please forgive me...

I was a bit satisfied with this chapter, but the only way I can tell is if I get reviews(hint hint) from my readers. And so, I am going to do something that I hate doing, but am evil enough to do. That's right, no updating until I get at least 12 reviews.

Bwahahahahachoke choke cough,

Narutochica.

P.s. Of course, I'm still going to update every week. I am so nice...and, last but not least, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I'll also answer questions readers have, so goodbye for now.

(And hi to the two of you from school who are reading this. Remember: I know where you live, so REVIEW)


	14. The Past

Hello everybody, thanks for waiting so patiently for this update. Hope you enjoy it. Oh, and if any of you want to kill me for writing this chapter, I understand. I wasn't quite right in the head when I wrote it...

Disclaimer: Sigh...why must I say this every time? Fine...I don't own Naruto, it belongs to the awesome Kishimoto-san(My hero)

**The Past**

Hinata was certain; she had heard the voice of her 'conscience' again.

"_It's you again!" _

"_Of course it's me, you kid! What was that crap with apologizing for calling him a monster? That asshole deserved it!" Hinata knew she was pacing up and down during her rant._

"_Just forget it!" Hinata thought back._

"_Huh." _

"_Where were you all this time?" she asked in her mind._

"_Look, my dear, I don't have to speak to you when I don't want to." Hinata could picture the white-haired woman sticking her tongue out playfully._

"_Um, yes, I respect that, but I'm still wondering who-and what- you are."_ _Hinata hinted that maybe she tell her who she was._

"_Uh-uh, sorry, kiddo, but I'm not saying a thing until you see me for what I really am."_

_Hinata felt exasperated; here was a voice in her head telling her what to do._

"_Well, how do I do it?"_

"_Simple." Hinata didn't know why, but she could picture her conscience lying down in a field, plucking lazily at a blade of grass. "_ _All you have to do is believe that I am not human. You see, it's a psychological illusion the mind uses when addressing one of a different species via dreams, or telepathic imaging."_

"_What do you mean?" The words her 'conscience' were using were too much for her._

"_I mean that, for example, say that you somehow contact your summon Rin through a dream. At first, to you she would appear as a human female. However, if you are certain that she is not a human, she would then appear as a regular otter to you. In Rin's case, she would see you as another otter. But if she knows and believes you're not an otter, then you would appear human to her._"

"_Okay...then what do I look like to you?"_

" '_did,' you mean. I know you're a human, so now you look like a human to me. Get it now?"_

_Hinata sighed. Obviously, she wasn't getting anywhere with this lady here._

"_Can't you at least tell me?"_

"_Hmmm, let me think? Nope!" Her conscience smirked, then seemed to disappear from her mind._

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"Hinata?" Itachi poked her on the forehead. (He did that to Sasuke, so I think it's cute when he does that to Hinata)

Hinata jumped, then took in her surroundings. Itachi had dragged her into the living room where the other Akatsuki were gathered, including a tall, broad shouldered man she didn't know. At the same time, he seemed familiar. The tall man noticed her, then broke into a toothy grin.

"What, kid, you don't recognize me?" His voice was tough, but he spoke politely. As soon as he spoke something 'clicked' in Hinata's mind. "Kisame?"

"Huh. First prize goes to the little lady." Hinata fainted on the floor.(Seriously, how many times does this chick faint!? Sigh...)

"Hmph,"grunted Kisame as he poked her(gently) with Samehada. "Didn't think she'd take it that hard."

Itachi sighed. "Just drop her on the couch."

When Hinata came to five minutes later Kisame was sitting on the couch next to her, watching tv. Instead of speaking to him, she studied his face. He looked pretty much the same, sans the gills, beady eyes, and blue skin. His hair was a dark brown, his black eyes more almond-shaped and, in general, he looked more like a human. _He actually looks good, _she thought.

"K-Kisame?" She squeaked out after staring holes through him. He turned, and nearly began laughing when he saw her bewildered face. "You really do have a negative reaction to everything, don't you?"

"B-but when did you-"

"Stop being blue?" She nodded slowly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, kid, but I'm not the swamp thing." Seeing her give him a tiny smile he continued. " It's a kekkai genkkai that allows me to transform my appearance to fit my environment, which was, frankly, the ocean. I can use it at will, and the Hoshigaki clan specialize in using techniques with sharks and water."

Hinata still felt shocked. She had gotten so used to Kisame's usual appearance, that she never stopped to question whether or not it was a transformation.

"Um...are there others who can do that?"

He squinted, as if trying to remember something. "Believe it or not, there are many kekkai genkkai like mine in Kirigakure. Some clans, when activating their blood limits resemble dolphins, others sea horses. Not everyone can do it, though."

Another voice interrupted them. "Hinata? You're all right now, I hope?"

Turning around, she saw it was Sasori. "S-Sasori! I-I'm sorry for fainting in the lake...I didn't mean for the fight to end so fast..."

Sasori's eyes widened momentarily as if he were shocked, then he quickly regained his composure. _Itachi was right...she seems unable to remember what happened after that..._

"It's fine, I went a bit hard on you, that's all." he said carefully.

Hinata, without meaning to glanced quickly at the dragon puppet in the corner that had started all the trouble. It was only five feet tall again, it's golden eyes glaring mockingly at her. _I need to take a closer look at that thing sometime..._

As if reading her mind, Sasori said: "I'll show you my puppets sometime, for now let's walk to the bar. Itachi and Deidara are waiting outside for us."

When they stepped on the front porch they were met with the sight of an angry Deidara speaking urgently to an ignorant Itachi. "...never use it on her..." Deidara was saying, then he noticed the kunoichi standing shyly on the porch. Itachi was leaning against a pole, his arms crossed and an indifferent look on his face. _His 'bad ass' look, _Hinata thought. _At least, that's how Sakura and Ino would have put it._ Without his Akatsuki cloak on he looked different.

"Hinata! I'm so glad you finally woke up, you were gone for another day! You need to do something about that fainting, yeah."

_Is my fainting that noticeable? _She thought as Deidara ruffled her hair in a brotherly way.

Itachi spun around and started walking up the Main Street. "Get your hands off her. You already have a girlfriend, don't you? No need to act as a bad influence on her." He said over his shoulder.

Deidara nudged her. "Ignore him. He never has anything nice to say, yeah."

Hinata giggled. Itachi sure had his own mood swings. _Like a pregnant woman, _she thought with a smirk.

She glanced at the sakura tree in the front yard. Sure enough, Little Lavender(she named that bird she saved) was poking her head out of the nest and watching. Hinata smiled shyly at the chick and followed Itachi.

Hinata walked between Deidara and Sasori, while Kisame stayed by Itachi's side. Every few minutes Itachi would half turn his head to look back at her before directing his eyes to the heart of the village.

_Maybe I did something wrong, and he's annoyed at me. I wish nothing bad will happen tonight._

Later on she would remember that once she made a wish like that, the exact opposite would happen.

When they made it to the bar, she stopped right in her tracks outside it. From the street she could hear yelling and the occasional sound of glass breaking. There was also a low voice singing to the plucking of a bass, the music drifting into her ears. Before it was drowned out by a tremendous crash.

"Um, Deidara? I'm not so sure I want to come in here."

Of course, Deidara wasn't listening. Grabbing her arm playfully, he pulled her into the bar, the other Akatsuki following them.

The inside of the bar was dim and smelled of hamburgers and sake. Waitresses wearing clothes that were probably made for dolls minced about, handing out sake and beer on round trays.

Hinata noticed several of them eyeing the four Akatsuki men, hungry looks in their eyes. As soon as they saw Hinata was with them, they shot her nasty glares. Unsurprisingly, the Akatsuki men were ignoring them. And doing a good job of it. _Even though he's probably miles away from her, Deidara's still faithful to his girlfriend and doesn't flirt with those other women, _Hinata thought admiringly.

"Hina. I see you came after all." It was Hidan; he was sitting on a low stool next to an empty table.

"I reserved seats for all of you."

"Th-thanks, Hidan," Hinata replied politely. She took a seat next to him while Itachi sat down on her other side, shooting a glare at the other man.

Deidara and Sasori exchanged amused glances with each other as soon as they saw this. Kisame meanwhile had sat down with a bunch of other guys at a nearby table. They were talking in hushed tones, but every once in a while they burst out in roars of laughter.

When one of the waitresses came around Hinata ordered a hamburger, ignoring the busty blonde's glare. She had heard of hamburgers; a traveler from the far west who had visited Konoha told her about them. Deidara reminded her of him . In the traveler's words, they were 'an explosion of intense flavor that was capable of giving one heartburn'. Naturally, that made her want to try one.

When the order came, she stared at it. It resembled a round, giant sandwich with a piece of meat the size of Akamaru stuck between the buns. Ketchup and melted cheese poured down the sides while thin slices of onions stuck out at every angle. Then, the _grease._ There was already a small puddle of it on the plate. And more of it dripping off.

"What?" Asked Deidara from across the table. "It's not going to eat you, yeah."

Itachi didn't say anything. He seemed to be listening idly while at the same time ignoring her.

Hinata gulped, then picked it up in both hands. "Go on," said Hidan, smirking.

Hinata slowly opened her mouth, then took a large bite. She chewed slowly, letting the flavors seep in then swallowing. All of the present Akatsuki leaned toward her, waiting to see what she was going to say next. Even Kisame had turned around from his drinking buddies and was watching her, his black eyes bright with amusement.

"It's...good."

Deidara smiled and held out his hand to Kisame, who gave him a dirty look and dropped some bills into it.

The waitresses, seeing the way she was making the men smile gave her dirty looks as well. But she ignored them.

Itachi, in turn was ignoring her. Next to her Hidan whispered:

"Itachi does not admit it, but he's never had a girlfriend before." Hinata's eyes widened.

"Really? Why?"

"He thinks he's too good for women."

"Not really," said Itachi who had overheard. "Women have their uses. If I wanted a girlfriend, I can get any one I want."

"Why don't you?" asked Hinata curiously.

"They're too troublesome and expect too much." _He sounds a lot like Shikamaru._

"Hmph," grumbled Hidan. "He just likes his sluts better."

"Huh?" Luckily for the Uchiha Hinata didn't hear.

"Quiet, Sunshine. I told you not to talk to him."

"A-actually y-you didn't."

"Hn."

Itachi turned around and looked the blonde waitress directly in the eye. She froze for a second, then came mincing over in her high heels. "Anything you want?" she asked in a sultry voice.

"Yeah. You," Itachi replied smirking.

Hinata nearly fainted. This was a whole different Itachi in front of her. A _flirting _Itachi?

Whispering 'byakugan' she looked into Itachi's mind. All she could see was that he was faking it, merely using the woman. But she couldn't tell what he was using her for. _He could have been an actor...he really had me fooled._

"Hinata," he said turning away from the woman for a second. The waitress was now sitting on his lap with a triumphant expression on her face. "Think you can play some songs?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"He means," said Kisame from the next table. "You have to sing and play something for the guys here."

"WH-WHAT?" Hinata was feeling weak-kneed. And she was sitting down.

"That's right." In a lower voice he added: "We want to test your singing and playing skills for your first mission."

"Here? Now?"

"Yep."

"On stage? Do I have to?" The kunoichi was panicking. Was this Itachi's idea of a cruel joke?

"Yeah, Sunny. We already arranged it with the bar owner. Singing in front of an audience will show us whether or not you're capable of the mission."

"Itachi. Kisame. There is no way I'm going to...

...sing in front of these drunkards," she finished quietly as she found herself on stage. The band behind her tuned their instruments. Even the drummer gave her a teasing grin when she was carried kicking and screaming (by Kisame) on stage. For some odd reason, no one else in the bar noticed this.

"_Well, kiddo, you're on your own for this one," _said her conscience as a guitar was shoved in her hands.

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"SHE WHAT????" Bellowed Tsunade as Hiashi Hyuuga stood in front of her calmly.

"She left the house after we told her not to. She is a very disobediant girl."

"I do not believe anything you say. Obviously she would have a reason to leave, hmmm?"

Hiashi stepped closer to where the 5th Hokage was sitting at her desk.

"All I did was tell her I wanted to make her heiress, and she ran away."

"You did something to that child, didn't you? I talk to her almost every day, and she doesn't seem like the type who would run off without a reason. Now, tell me before I rip your head off."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. He knew he was on bad terms with the Hokage but not even Tsunade herself could stop him from making the Hyuugas great. "That, Tsunade-sama is official clan business."

"Like I give a shit as to your stupid traditions! I order you to tell me right away!"

Hiashi stiffened. How dare she order around the Hyuuga Head?

"I believe that is none of your business, Tsunade-sama."

Shizune backed against the window, wondering if she could escape before the inevitable explosion...

Instead of flattening him like she wanted to Tsunade calmly opened her drawer and poured out a glassful of champagne. Forcing her lips into a smile, she sipped it and regarded him closely for a few minutes.

'_Oh dear,' _thought Shizune. _'She's giving him the 'hawk eyes'..._

Finally, she set down the glass and leaned forward on her elbows, chin cushioned in hands.

"You know Hiashi...the crimes the Hyuuga clan has committed are bad enough to call for an execution...same with the Uchihas but since most of them are gone I may have to take out all my anger on you." She smirked as he flinched

"So!" She said pushing her chair back and standing up. "I have a little proposal." Tsunade slowly began to walk around her room, pausing only to dump the rest of the champagne into her dead potted plant. "Stuff's not a good year,"she muttered under her breath. Turning to Hiashi she continued. "Either you tell me what you've done to that child and receive a proper sentence or..." She brought her face close to his. "I'll rip you limb from limb and use my own power to put caged bird seals on _all _the Main Branch members. Then _all _the Hyuugas will be equal."

She watched with satisfaction as he seemed to struggle with himself before bowing in defeat. Even Tonton crept out from where she had been hiding to hear him confess as to what he had done to his youngest daughter.

"So you would have let her waste away in that room without any sustenance? Until she agreed to become heiress?"

Hiashi didn't respond.

"Huh. Then I will destroy the Hyuuga tradition as it is now. From this day forward, the Hyuugas will have a new Head of Family." Hiashi tensed and opened his mouth to object but Tsunade swept right on. "And...I will do everything in my power to erase the caged bird seals on all of the Branch members. However," she gave him a deadly glare. "Until that day comes...you shall wear that horrid seal upon your head...and see the suffering that you have wrought upon on your own kin. Especially..." she trailed off.

Hiashi raised his head defiantly. " I don't see what Hizashi has to do with this!"

Tsunade glowered, her eyes blazing. "The only ones in your clan that tried at all to change their destinies are he, Sora, and Neji. Two of them are now dead, and your nephew-and daughters- will end up going down the same path unless something is changed." Tsunade forced herself to calm down. She gave him a small, evil grin.

"Tell me...what kind of man forces his wife to wear that seal? Especially when she wasn't a Hyuuga in the first place." Shizune gasped aloud.

"Enough of this nonsense...and by the way...wherever Hanabi is now, I'm sure she is a thousand times happier there than back at the compound. I am _not _looking for her until she comes back of her own accord." Tsunade finished her tirade and sat on her desk, a bottle of sake in her hand. "Now go away while I decide who the new Head is." Taking a swig, she watched as he quietly left the room.

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Hanabi woke up in a soft, pillowy bed she didn't recognize. Sitting up, she looked around the room. It didn't have much furniture, but there were all sorts of weapons hung up on the walls. She jumped as a certain brown-eyed kunoichi walked in.

"Awake, I see," she said smiling.

"Where am I?" Hanabi asked.

"We are at my house. You can live here if you like."

Hanabi felt a little hope flicker somewhere deep within her heart. "R-really?"

Tenten nodded. "Yes. Right now, Neji and your aunt are settling things with the Hokage."

"Oh."

"Ah! Here is your envelope. Don't worry, I didn't peek at it." She handed over the envelope full of the precious documents.

Hanabi took it silently. This was the closest thing she had that was about her mother and sister. Even though the words concealed in the papers were upsetting, she would hold them forever close to her heart. _All I have left of Hinata...and Mom..._

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Hinata searched for Itachi's face in the audience. Once she saw his smirking face looking at her, she glared right back at him. _I can promise you an early death when I get back down there, _she thought furiously.

'_And I'll help,' _her "conscience" said gleefully.

Itachi only smirked and raised his glass as if toasting her.

_I'd like to see you try, _he seemed to reply with the gesture he made.

"What should I sing?" she mouthed to the drummer.

He tossed her a piece of paper with a song on it titled 'Good Riddance (Time of your Life)'

Hinata paled. Out of every song, she had to sing _that _one.

"But a man is supposed to be singing this!" The drummer rolled his eyes.

"Just go along with it. You're by yourself on acoustic guitar, and we'll have the strings here." He pointed at his poor band mates who were miserably picking up violins and cellos while casting wistful glances at their guitars and keyboards. The drummer himself picked up a huge stand-up bass.

Seeing the fear on her face, he added:

"You'll like doing this. Y'know the song?"

Hinata nodded. "Good girl. This song is nice and easy, a little something to calm the guys down. We'll be closing in another half hour, and we want the evening to end with something sweet. All right?"

"I-I think so."

"Then hurry it up, we're going to start now."

Hinata sat on the stool in the middle of the stage and distractedly tuned the guitar. It was a long time since she had last played it.

When the lights dimmed Hinata concentrated on Itachi's face as he smirked at her from his table. The blonde waitress was still sitting on his lap; she was probably caught in a trance by Itachi or something.

Heart filled with dread, Hinata began plucking out the first notes of the song, knowing the chords and notes without even looking;

It was once her favorite song, now it was her most hated song. It was the first song Shisui had ever taught her, and singing it brought back memories that reminded her of him. Sucking up her pain, Hinata began the first words:

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road_

_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go_

_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why_

_It's not a question but a lesson learned in time_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,_

_I hope you have the time of your life._

The cellos and basses began playing, giving out long, melancholy notes. Hinata felt her heart getting heavier with each note. It was painful listening, let alone singing to the song at all. She stopped singing at the appropriate time to let her guitar play along with the cellos, never changing the rhythm that she started off with. The louder the cellos played, the more blurry her vision became. Ignoring the fresh tears that were now running freely down her face she began the next verses:

_So take the photographs and still frames in your mind_

_Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time_

_Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial_

_For what it's worth it was worth all the while_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,_

_I hope you have the time of your life._

The cellos thrummed while she was singing, their slow, sad sounds ringing through the entire room. The violins' notes escalated to greater heights, the basses adding a deep intense sound to the song. She plucked out quick quarter notes and bent her head to make sure her hair obscured her face from view. She didn't want Itachi-or anybody for that matter- to see her wet face.

All the men (and the few women, excluding the waitresses) leaned forward slightly in their seats, as if captivated by her voice. Some of them even let out low whistles.

Deidara had his elbow on the table, his head in his hand. His eyes were closed as he listened quietly to the music. Opening them lazily he glanced at each of the other Akatsuki there. Hidan was tearing into his burger, flicking his eyes up every few seconds at the stage. Sasori was sitting straight up, all his attention focused on Hinata. Kisame was nodding appreciatively, a full beer bottle in each hand.

_And what about Weasel boy, yeah? _He thought to himself and let his eyes wander over to Itachi. The eldest Uchiha had an unreadable expression on his face. He was no longer paying attention to the blonde waitress. Instead, his eyes were on the Hinata. Or, as Deidara realized, on her face. It was covered by her hair that kept falling over it.

Confused, he looked at Hinata's face and realized that what he had mistaken for perspiration earlier was actually _tears. _He could tell just by the look on her face that the song was clearly upsetting her very much.

_Itachi you insensitive jerk...you probably knew this would hurt her. _Deidara frowned in disapproval, but it couldn't be helped now.

Hinata was just finishing the song at the moment.

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,_

_I hope you have the time of your life._

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,_

_I hope you have the time of your life._

The entire bar erupted into loud whistling and cheering. Seeing that everyone looked cheerful, the manager stepped nervously on stage.

"Ehhhhhh, since we'll be closing in a little while I suggest everyone finish off their drinks, right? Nice and easy now, eh?" He shifted from leg to leg in a skittish way; it was obvious that things could go bad any second.

Hinata meanwhile had jumped offstage and ran into the bathroom. Seeing her face in the mirror, she wiped at it with a paper towel, making sure to get rid of any wet traces. She couldn't think straight; the song was only two and a half minutes long, but every memory of Shisui came flashing through her mind. She knew she had to get over him and move on, but he was one of the few people who ever paid attention to her when she was younger. That, Hinata knew, she could never forget.

"I'm a ninja! I'm not supposed to be sitting around singing in bars, I should be out doing missions!

Shisui would be disappointed in me if he saw me like this!"

_But Shisui would not have wanted me to be sad right now. He would have preferred that I get on with my life, fulfill my nindo and defend my village. And I will._

_Flashback:_

_It was about nine o' clock in the morning and Shisui was walking along the river, thinking up a plan for his next mission. He heard quiet footsteps behind him and whirled around, ready to attack his pursuer. When he saw who it was, he relaxed and pocketed his kunai._

"_Hinata-sama! What are you doing here?" _

"_I-I w-wanted you to teach me something today. P-please?" Hinata gave him a pleading look._

_Shisui smiled. "If I am going to teach you something, it might as well be how to stalk an enemy. I heard someone following me as soon as I left my house."_

"_Oh. R-really?" He nodded._

"_You may be very light, but you step way too heavily. Watch this."_

_He disappeared from view using his 'Body Flicker' technique._

_Hinata stood there alone next to the river, looking around in every direction. She wasn't able to use her byakugan very well yet, so she had no idea where he was. _

"_Boo!" said a voice close to her ear. She jumped and turned around to see the young ninja leaning against a tree, laughing. _

"_Nii-san! T-that wasn't fair!" she said acting annoyed. Though he was about fifteen, Shisui could occasionally act childish. And it wasn't something he did often. _

"_It's not like an enemy would come walking up to you and say 'oh, I'm right over here.' You have to use all your senses to catch him before he catches you. Try attacking me right now."_

_He took a cloth out of his pocket and tied it around his head so that it covered his eyes._

_Hinata turned on her byakugan and tried to hit a chakra node in his chest. He merely dodged it and stayed in a defensive position. Amazed, Hinata threw a well-aimed kunai at him. Raising his arm, he grabbed it out of the air before it could hit him in the neck. _

_They did this often whenever Hinata came over. Shisui had decided if she wanted to become an ANBU, it was better if he taught her stuff. Besides, it was a good way for him to sharpen his senses. Every time she came, he would teach her something new._

_Shisui only smirked and, dropping the kunai flipped backward and landed on the river's surface. Hinata carefully followed him. He had taught her the water walking jutsu a week ago, and she was still a bit new to it. Before she could launch a flurry of shuriken at him he spread his arms, looking almost like a raven spreading it's wings. Almost at once a sphere of water surrounded him. The shuriken only bounced of the water shield._

_Hinata was about to try for another attack when she found her arm being restrained by a thin coil of water. Looking closely, she realized it was a little dragon made of water. More of them twined themselves around her legs, making her immobile._

"_Nii-san...help!" she cried out. Shisui took off his blindfold and grinned. His water shield vanished. _

"_Relax, Hinata-sama. They're mine. They won't hurt you."_

_Hinata watched as they slid off her and swam over to Shisui. _

"_See?" He said picking one of them up and putting it in her hand. "I control them, so it won't hurt you."_

_The dragon crawled up her arm and lay down across her shoulders. _

"_How did you do those techniques?" She asked as all the dragons melted back into water._

"_I'll teach you them later. I'm the only Uchiha who uses water and wind-type techniques. All the rest use fire and lightning-type moves. They don't like the fact that I can't use them much."_

"_Why?" _

_Shisui sighed. Hinata could see sadness in his black eyes. "They say that all Uchihas must specialize in only fire and lightning techniques. The fact that I specialize in wind and water annoys them. I have virtually no skills in the other three ninja elements."_

"_But you're in the ANBU..." Hinata felt bad for him. She could relate to his situation. The Hyuugas were no better._

"_That's right. I proved them wrong and now I'm in one of the highest ranks. You can do the same." He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Now, let's go back and get something to eat. You're hungry, right?"_

_Hinata shyly nodded. _

_As they walked back through the forest hand in hand, Shisui paused, his eyes narrowed. He bent down and looked the eight-year old Hyuuga in the eye. _

"_Hinata,"he said, his low voice serious and urgent. "I want you to start running back to where we trained a few minutes ago. Run back and hide. Right now."_

_By the look in his eyes she could tell something bad was about to happen. She could feel an impending doom coming over them. She began to panic._

"_Nii-san, what's going on!? NII-SAN!" Shisui gave her a furious look. "Do as I say right now!"_

"_I'm not going to leave you!" Hinata heard a faint rustle up ahead in the forest but paid no attention to it. _

_Shisui also must have heard it, for there was a new urgency in his voice. "Just run!"_

_Seeing that she wasn't going to budge he gave her a sharp, painful slap across the face. "Go away!" he hissed angrily. Hinata stared at him for a second, shocked that he actually struck her._

_Afraid, Hinata blindly ran back in the direction they came. Only once she glanced back, and what she saw made her blood run cold. _

_A dark figure leaped out of a tree and bowled her best friend over. As Shisui wrestled on the ground with the enemy ninja, more and more of came and surrounded him until she couldn't see him anymore. There were at least twenty of them attacking him simultaneously. It was one of the cruelest things she had ever witnessed. At first she felt compelled to run back and help him, but she also knew that she had to follow his orders. _

_Turning around, resumed her flight until she found a clump of bushes. She crawled under them and tucked herself into a ball. Miserable, she cried quietly until she fell asleep. When she woke up, it was the afternoon. _

"_Nii-san?" she whispered. By the sun's position, she could tell it was about 12 noon. Around two hours since she had last seen him. Hinata felt scared. Though she wanted to go out and look for him, she remembered the enemy shinobi that went after him so mercilessly. _

_She stayed crouched in the bushes for a minutes, then jumped when she felt arms wrap around her waist and haul her up. She covered her eyes with her fists._

"_Hinata-sama?" The voice was familiar. _

_Hinata uncovered her eyes and looked into Shisui's tired but smiling face. "N-nii-san? What happened to you?" She felt tears of happiness start falling down her face. Shisui didn't look seriously hurt. He had some cuts and scratches, but otherwise looked perfectly fine._

"_Don't worry, I took care of them. For now, let's get you back to the Uchiha compound. I need to report this to my uncle. And I'm sorry for hitting you, but it was the only way I could get you to leave." Hinata immediately forgave him for that._

_Holding her in his arms, he walked back along the path to the compound. Ahead, Hinata could barely make out the many dark, crumpled figures on the ground. With a jolt, she realized they were the enemy shinobi that had ambushed them. _

"_Don't look," Shisui said. She got one good look at the scene before he covered her eyes. Bodies littered the ground. The grass was stained with blood, and there was a horrible, sickly odor in the air that made her retch. That was the first time she saw how much destruction he was capable of._

_The smell soon disappeared as Shisui carried her to the compound and put her on his bed after seeing how sick she looked. While he called her father, he kept looking over at her anxiously, every once in a while asking her how she felt. _

"_I'm fine," she kept replying. 'For as long as you're with me, I'll always feel protected.'_

Hinata smiled at the memory. It was bittersweet, but it captured the essence of Shisui's fighting spirit and the kindness he had toward others.

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Itachi sat there watching the bathroom, his eyes narrowed. The annoying blonde waitress had left to finish her job, leaving Itachi with his thoughts. Ever since Sunshine(I'll have him refer to Hinata as 'Sunshine' in his mind occasionally. He just alternates between the two names) began playing the first notes he recognized the song right away. He had been there in Shisui's room while she was learning it. He had no idea they would have her play that one, but she had done very well.

He also knew she was going to be dangerously mad when she came out of the bathroom. After witnessing the last few moments of her fight with Sasori, he decided that it was best not to get her too angry or upset. Of course, he could handle her mood swings. Fingering the collar in his pocket, he thought about where Hinata had gotten it from. Probably from that Inuzuka kid. The collar was the only thing that could keep Hinata's inner power at bay. From what he gathered, Hinata was very important to the Inuzuka clan. They just never realized it. Itachi took a small sip of his sake.

_She is now unstable...it's happened._

When Hinata came out of the bathroom she was surrounded by a dozen men, all clamoring to talk to her. One of them, a teen who was perhaps a year or two younger than her asked her out. Naturally, that set off a chain reaction of men begging for a date. The bouncer waded through the crowd and shielded her from them while she snuck back to the Akatsuki.

As soon as she came back Deidara gave her a tight hug while Sasori smiled and told her she was perfect. Kisame toasted her and Hidan put his arm around her waist, a grin on his face. Hinata was happy they liked her performance, but Itachi's reaction was the most she wanted to see.

He barely even looked at her. For some reason, she felt slightly annoyed that he was ignoring her.

_He was probably fooling around with that waitress the entire time. I bet he didn't listen the entire time I was singing..._

"I-Itachi...was I good enough?" She held her breath quietly. She would have a better chance of fulfilling her nindo if Itachi trusted her with this mission. _If I'm lucky, I may still be able to get back to Konoha eventually._

Itachi got up and swiftly snapped the collar around her neck.

"Itachi...what?" She knew in an instant he was trying to restrain her from losing her temper.

"Calm down. And yes, you did decently. Way better than the last time..." Hinata's eyes widened as she realized what he was talking about. A feeling of intense rage filled her chest.

Knowing it would be a bad move to take the collar off, she turned and ran out of the bar. Itachi sighed, dumped several bills on the table and followed her out.

Deidara got up to go after them but Sasori held tightly to his arm.

"Let them settle this by themselves," he said quietly. Deidara paused, then nodded in silent agreement.

"You're right, yeah..."

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_Flashback_

_Eight year old Hinata saw her target. He was sitting on the floor of the living room reading a scroll. _

_She was always welcome in Shisui's house; he kept the door unlocked for her. She stepped lightly, making sure her feet made no noise on the wooden floor. _

_Today was the day...she would finally catch Shisui by surprise._

_Closer...she was now five feet away from him. _

_Shisui made no indication that he heard her._

_Delighted, she pounced on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. _

"_Can you please let go of me?"_

_Hinata let go and backed away. Only when he turned around was when she realized that it wasn't Shisui she had tackled, but a completely different kid._

_He looked to be only a handful of years older than her. He was like a younger version of Shisui, except with shorter hair and weird lines going down his face. He was also glaring angrily at her._

"_What are you doing here?" He asked in a cold voice. _

_Hinata stammered. "U-um...I am looking for my Nii-san..I am sorry..."_

"_Your name?"_

"_H-Hinata."_

"_Hn. I think I know who you are talking about. Fine. Come with me." Picking up the scroll he walked down the hallway at a fast pace and ascended a flight of stairs. Hinata had to run to keep up with him._

_He ushered her into a doorway. When she looked in, she breathed a sigh of relief. Shisui was sitting on his bed, tuning a guitar._

"_Shisui!" Hinata ran up and hugged him while the other boy watched with an expressionless look. _

"_Hello, Hinata-sama." He looked at the boy. "Thanks for showing her here, Itachi." _

"_Hn." Itachi just sat down in a nearby chair as if he belonged there. Hinata learned afterward that he was a close cousin of Shisui and often visited him._

"_Shisui, do you think you could teach me that song you played before?" Hinata's father, ever since he made her heiress had made her learn things other than being a ninja. She was forced to learn how to sing, dance, draw, and play an instrument. He insisted the a heiress must have many different talents. This led to Shisui taking over some of her ninja and instrumental training._

"_Do you not think it is too advanced for you? You learn very fast, but you only started a month ago." He handed her the guitar and dug another out from under the bed for himself._ _Shisui was a pack rat for guitars; he had at least two hidden in every room of his house._

"_You say you played your first song within five days of picking up the guitar. And you never used your sharingan to copy it." Another thing about him that Hinata liked was that he rarely used his sharingan. Though his was one of the strongest, he liked learning things by himself. The sharingan, he thought, was the easy way out of a situation._

_Shisui raised an eyebrow. "All right. You're on, chibi-chan. Let's see you learn this song within two days. How's that?"_

"_That would be all right, Nii-san."_

_While Shisui was teaching her the chords for "Good Riddance(Time of your Life)" Itachi kept reading over his scroll. He would sometimes look curiously at her while she played. His gaze kept sending nervous chills up her spine but she ignored it._

_After that, she only saw him once or twice afterward in the months leading up to the Uchiha massacre. _

_88888888888888888888888888888888888888_

Itachi hadn't expected her to leave like that. Frustrated, he walked after her. No matter how fast or how far she went, he could always follow her chakra trail. Sensing that she had stopped somewhere nearby he slowed down. No need to hurry, after all. Itachi approached the gates of the park. Focusing his senses, he realized she was sitting on a bench not far from him. Hinata was staring at the moon, a melancholy expression on her face.

_Come to decide that the things that I tried_

_Were in my life just to get high on_

_When I sit alone come get a little known_

_But I need more than myself this time _

_Step from the road to the sea to the sky _

_And I do believe what we rely on_

_When I lay it on_

_Come get to play it on _

_All my life to sacrifice._

He paused. It was definitely Hinata's voice. Hoping she was still wearing the collar, he came closer. If there was anyone who was almost as fast as him, it was her and Deidara. He didn't want to spend the entire night chasing after her if she ran off again. Instead he waited patiently and listened.

_Hey oh, listen what I say oh_

_I got your _

_Hey oh, now listen what I say oh_

_When will I know that I really can't go_

_To the well one more time to decide on_

_When it's killing me _

_When will I really see_

_All that I need to look inside_

_Come to believe that I better not leave_

_Before I get my chance to ride_

_When it's killing me_

_What do I really need_

_All that I need to look inside_

_Hey oh, listen what I say oh_

_Come back and_

_Hey_ _oh, look at what I say oh_

_The more I see the less I know _

_The more I like to let it go...hey oh_

_People need the cover of another_

_perfect wonder_

_Where it's so white as snow _

The singing stopped, and a kunai came flying his way.

Rolling his eyes he smacked it away before it could hit him. He rounded the corner and was met face to face with an unusually angry Hinata. In her clenched hand was the Inuzuka collar, the spikes on it digging into her palm.

Eyes flashing with barely contained fury, she jabbed a chakra-filled hand at him, barely missing his face. Itachi calmly dodged the hit and blocked her next one.

Not caring whether or not she hit him, Hinata delivered a spinning kick while Itachi ducked.

Hearing her leg pass over him he straightened up and immediately had to evade an Eight Trigrams 64 Palms attack. He knew Hinata was blinded during this attack; her version was too fast.

Feeling nothing but air Hinata flipped and put some distance between herself and Itachi. She held her arms out, her palms facing him.

Itachi had no idea what she was doing; it was when he felt his mouth go completely dry that he realized she was dehydrating him, and at a fast speed as well. He made sure he was out of range and stood about fifty feet away, watching her. He didn't want to fight her; all he wanted to do was bring her back to the house. If he fought her in the state she was in, it was possible that he could damage her. She was too valuable to Akatsuki for that to happen. Besides, it would be harder to _not _kill her. His skill level was much higher than hers.

Hinata glowered at him. It was then that he realized her eyes had turned completely black. The large iris was hiding most of the whites of her eyes.

Itachi braced himself for another attack. Whatever was going to happen, he would wait until she was tired, _then _grab her and drag her back to the house.

Instead of attacking, Hinata just shook her head as if doused with cold water. When she looked at him, it was with a quizzical expression on her face. Her eyes were had returned to their original color.

"I-Itachi? Where are we?" She asked timidly.

_Stupid kunoichi...is she so scatterbrained that she forgets everything?_

Itachi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You left without us and I came to get you back."

"L-left?" Hinata still looked completely clueless.

"The bar? After singing?" he prompted. _I don't know how...but she really is able to anger me at times..._

The confused look on her face was replaced by a sad expression.

"Yeah. I remember now,"she said dejectedly. She sat down on a bench and wrapped her arms around her legs, chin resting on knees.

_She's changed again...now she is the same as when I first captured her; shy, nervous and withdrawn. She's like a pregnant woman with her mood swings..._

No longer feeling annoyed Itachi sat down next to her. "You need to find some way to control your temper." He watched her back as she tensed, then relaxed again.

"I...I know that already..." Hinata still didn't turn around to face him; instead she chose to fiddle with the collar.

"Care to tell me what's on your mind?"

"U-um...it is all right Itachi. I-I wouldn't want to trouble you with my problems."

"_Why on earth are you being nice to that weasel-faced prick? Hell, we should be kicking his ass to the heavens right now, what the f..." Her conscience was literally freaking out, but she didn't pay any attention to her words._

"_It's you who are causing all my problems. You are the monster who's making me like this!"_

"_M-monster?" Her conscience seemed taken aback. "I. Am. NOT. A. Monster!" _

"_What are you then? Go on, tell me." Hinata had lost all patience._

"_Rrrr. Forget this. Do whatever the hell you like. I'm gone." Her voice was angry, but Hinata could tell she was feeling hurt. Sadness came off her in waves._

"_Wait! I didn't mean..." Hinata knew it was no use begging. She couldn't detect her presence anymore._

"Hinata?" said Itachi. Her back was facing him so she couldn't see his expression.

Hinata took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Itachi. I'm going back now."

She got up and began to walk back to Sasori's house. Itachi watched her for a few moments before following.

Once again, he felt as if he wasn't finished talking to her. She was normal again, but yet...

Itachi caught up until he was right behind her. Without hesitation he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"We're supposed to be leaving for our mission day after tomorrow...how about we do something else tonight to take your mind off things?"

"Huh?"

"I cannot have you distracted during the mission. If you screw up, it'll be me that gets in trouble."

She felt Itachi's chin resting on her head. _Of course...he's thinking of himself, as always. _Hinata sighed.

"O-okay..."

Itachi smirked and released her.

Though she was nervous, she didn't pull back when he took her hand in his. Wordlessly she followed him.

When they reached the gates of the village Itachi let go of her. With a short nod he leaped into a tree and waited. Hinata jumped onto the same branch. As soon as she did Itachi jumped onto another branch and began traveling north. Hinata followed as fast as she could, just behind him. It was hard to keep up with his speed and then maintain it, but she tried her hardest. Neither of them spoke to each other. After an hour Itachi slowed down, sensing that she was tiring.

She broke the silence. "U-um...Itachi? How far do we have to go?" Itachi glanced back at her, a neutral expression on his face.

"Not far. Ten more minutes."

His voice was no longer cold like it had been earlier that night when he threatened to use the Mangekyou on her. It was more calm and soft.

Soon Itachi signaled her to stop. Dropping on to the ground he waited until she was next to him then held her hand again.

They were now in an area of the forest in which there were fewer trees. She could feel small pebbles through the bottoms of her sandals. As he led her onward she noticed they were on a downward slope and that the air was more fresh.

After a minute she saw that the pebbles on the ground were now replaced by sand. Looking around, she realized that they were on a wide strip of sand that stretched for miles to the east and west. And directly in front of her, only about twenty yards away was a huge, endless expanse of water. She stopped in her tracks.

"I-Itachi? Wh-what is this?" Clearly perplexed she looked at the Uchiha for an explanation.

Itachi glanced at her. "Have you never seen the ocean before?"

"T-this is an ocean?" She was in awe. _I never knew the ocean was as big as this..._

Itachi nodded. "Come closer." The entire time they were holding hands; now he led her closer to the water.

It made a loud churning noise. Little waves kept crashing over the surface, making water sweep on to the beach. Seeing something small and pointy scuttle across the sand she bent down and let it crawl on to her hand. It was like a little crab with a large pointed shell on it's back. _Cute._

"Hermit crab?" She asked Itachi. He nodded. The little crab waved it's pinchers at her and she put it down, where it promptly buried itself in the sand.

They were now closer to the ocean. A salty scent rose off it, making her wonder how it tasted.

Almost as if reading her mind Itachi said:

"Don't drink it. The ocean water is too salty, and would probably make you go mad." Her eyes became as wide as saucers.

"A-are you serious?"

He shrugged. "It's not healthy to drink it. If you want to find out for yourself, go right ahead."

Hinata didn't. Instead she activated her byakugan. When her sight reached it's limit, she snapped it off in surprise. The ocean stretched for more than fifteen miles, which was when her vision couldn't go further.

Itachi's eyes widened when he saw a small but genuine smile on her face. The first real smile he had seen her give in a while.

Hinata turned to him. "How deep is it?"

Itachi smirked, mischief in his eyes. "Why don't you find out for the both of us?"

Hinata squealed as he picked her up, (bridal style) and stepped on to the water. He kept walking until they were a hundred feet into the ocean.

"Now, where should I drop you?"

"I-Itachi, you're not..." Though she could swim well, she was not so sure she could handle the ocean itself.

Seeing that he had a very serious expression on his face she kept quiet.

"Maybe here?" He looked down at her.

Hinata screamed as she suddenly felt herself falling...only to be caught just before she hit the water.

Itachi smirked at her. She glared up at him but her expression of annoyance was replaced by one of total awe.

"The stars...they look beautiful from here." She was looking past his shoulder at the stars, which, Itachi noticed, were unusually bright.

"I see some of the constellations,"she said softly. "There's the Big Dipper...and the Little Dipper is close to it."

Itachi looked in the direction she indicated. "I was taught to recognize those constellations as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor."

Hinata smiled. "And those two...Sirius and Canis minor."(Sirius is also known as Canis major, or 'bigger dog'. The second one means 'smaller dog.')

Itachi never smiled. He only watched the stars with a mild interest.

_Sirius is beautiful tonight..._

Hinata suddenly felt a pang of grief when she laid eyes on Sirius. It was as if there was a sadness welling up inside her that she never knew of.

It felt as if her heart was breaking just looking at it.

She wiped quickly at her eyes before any tears could leak out.

"Is there anything wrong?" Itachi asked after feeling her sudden movement in his arms.

"U-um...it was just a bit of saltwater in my eyes," she lied.

She knew Itachi was aware that she was lying but he didn't press the subject any further.

"I-Itachi?"

"Hn?"

"Thank you for taking me here...I really appreciate it."

Itachi didn't reply. He looked at Sirius once more, and for the first time felt an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

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Back in Konoha...

Akamaru fidgeted on his futon. Kiba, who was on the couch next to him rolled over but never woke up.

He scratched his ear and yawned, exposing long white canines. It was the middle of the night and he was having trouble sleeping again. This never happened before. He knew something was wrong.

Careful not to wake his human brother up, he slid off the futon and butted open the back door, which led to the garden.

Kuromaru was already sitting there, looking calmly at the stars. He flicked his one ear at the younger dog as he approached and sat next to him.

They stayed there, side by side until it was nearly morning. Akamaru felt a chill rush up his spine.

Akamaru didn't know how, but he could tell just by looking at the fading stars. Something bad was going to happen to Hinata.

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Aaargh. Good morning. Just finishing my cereal. Which has gone soggy now. And now, for another one of my ridiculous reasons why I was late updating.

All I can say is, I kept rewriting the last few pages of this chapter over and over and over again. I hated the way I ended it, so I wrote like a million endings before I came up with this one.

Preview for next chapter...let's just say it involves knitting. No need to go further. I will also reveal almost everything in the next one. Almost.

Thanks for the outstanding amount of reviews,

Narutochica.

P.S. The songs used were "Good Riddance(Time Of Your Life)" by Green Day, and a part of "Snow(Hey Oh)" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Sigh...those are two of my favorite songs in the world. You really should listen to them. I also considered using the lyrics to "Holiday" by Green Day but they seem a bit offensive(read them and you'll see) Still, it sounds really awesome.(Ugh, I actually said 'awesome.'...)

One more thing...REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!MUST GET REVIEWS! AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!!(I REALLY NEED IT)


	15. Demons and Dares

Hello, I finally returned again. My excuse for being tardy is at the end. I made this chapter much longer to make up for my lateness. I may write shorter chapters from now on...

I know you all have been waiting for this, so you deserve an update.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. It belongs to the best of the best, Kishimoto-san!

**Demons and Dares**

It was two in the morning when they came back.

When Itachi unlocked the door and opened it, they were both surprised to see that it was completely dark. Sasori usually kept his downstairs lights on at night.

Hinata told Itachi that she was grateful for him taking her out again and was about to go upstairs when he grabbed her hand.

"Um...yes?" She couldn't see his expression in the dark, but she knew it was expressionless, as usual.

"Why were you so upset tonight?"

Hinata attempted a smile. "I-It's nothing. I...am just emotional..."

Itachi flicked on the light, causing her to squint in pain momentarily.(It was dark, so her eyes hurt when they came in contact with light)

"I-Itachi...I hope you have a good night..."

"Hn." She stood there for a second, unsure of how to leave.

Itachi stared at her a while longer before turning around abruptly and going upstairs. Faintly she heard the 'click' of his door as he closed it.

_Damnit...what is wrong with me? Something doesn't feel right. _Letting out a frustrated sigh she went in to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. Sitting down at the table, she stared at it before getting up and putting a few spoonfuls of powdered chocolate into it. And yet she couldn't drink.

_I wish Team 8 were with me...I love them so much, yet I haven't even attempted to leave..._

Hinata remembered the missions she had accomplished with them. No matter what the trouble was, Team 8 hardly quarreled among themselves. They were more like a family, people who she could count on. Even at night she found it hard to sleep without her two teammates and Akamaru with her. On missions, while Kurenai slept in a tent nearby, Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru shared their own.

During the first few weeks, they all slept in different corners of the tent.(note: tents aren't that big)

_At that time, we didn't even trust each other,_ Hinata thought with a little smile. That all changed when she got to know Shino a little better, when some of his kikai insects crawled on her by mistake. Shino told her they wouldn't harm her as long as he was there. Realizing that the aloof bug master wanted to become friends as much as she did, she hung out with him more often, and stayed close to him on missions.

Kiba was a bit harder to win over. Coming from a family close to dogs, he was like a dog himself. A shy, mistreated dog that avoided others whenever possible. At first, he hardly said anything to his teammates. Even when Hinata and Shino began to talk to each other, he still remained distant and wary, as if they would snarl and jump on him if they thought of him as a threat. He always slept in a corner of the tent/campsite with little Akamaru curled up by his side.

Then there came the night when Akamaru bounded over to Hinata and Shino's side of the tent, first putting his tiny paws on Shino's face and licking his cheek, then doing the same with Hinata and curling up in her lap. When Kiba tried to call him back, the puppy only shook his head and yipped happily. Kiba came over and apologized for Akamaru's behavior, to which Hinata replied that she didn't mind. Naturally, Kiba wanted to be close to his dog so he readily accepted when Hinata asked if he wanted to sleep next to them that night.

The next night and the night afterwards Akamaru pulled the same stunt, one night sitting in Shino's lap and the next in Hinata's. Only when Kiba set up his sleeping bag next to them did he walk daintily across his teammates to sleep next to him. Kiba was always on her right while Shino was on the left, with the puppy sleeping on Kiba's chest. Kiba opened up to them more after that, and that was when they were truly a team.

When Akamaru grew bigger they slept in the same positions as before, except for the fact that Akamaru was used as a pillow for all three of them. Since they did this all the time, they grew as close as siblings and were all comfortable with each other at night. Hinata considered all three of them as brothers, so she trusted them very much.

About two years after they became genin, Kurenai gave Hinata a cute baby river otter as a present. Shino had an excellent sense of hearing and he had his kikai insects, while Kiba had a superior sense of smell and had Akamaru. Kurenai could overcome any genjutsu, but she only borrowed a summon occasionally. Since Hinata had the best eyesight, she needed a partner to help improve her tracking skills, as a way to make up for her weaker senses. Hinata realized how deep Kiba's relationship was with Akamaru, because she experienced the same with Rin.

Now that little Rin was there, they had new sleeping arrangements. She would curl up next to Akamaru every night on missions. In Konoha she had her own futon that she stayed on. Hinata raised and trained her, even going so far as to teach her how to speak, and read. This went on for two years. Rin grew almost as big as Akamaru and went back to her family near the mountains, only to return whenever she was summoned. She was used for missions that involved tracking missing-nin near large bodies of water.

Eventually, Kurenai had to stop ninja work for two years to take care of her baby girl. The other three members of Team 8 became ANBU. They were a new tracking unit, and their duties had then changed from random missions to those that involved tracking down and killing rogue ninja with bounties on their heads, and others that were a threat to Konoha.

Later on Kurenai joined them again and things became the same as they always were.

Until Itachi forced her away from them.

At this point, Hinata felt lost without any of them there.

She could always use her summon for company, but Rin was meant for missions and training. It would be very selfish to call her over for comfort.

Feeling more lonely than ever, Hinata gulped down the chocolate milk and rinsed out the glass. When she made it to her room she just flopped on the bed and closed her eyes.

Though she was too old for such things, she felt a little nervous in her pitch-dark room. Flicking on the stained glass lamp on her desk, she let out another frustrated sigh.

Even her 'conscience' would be excellent company. _I should apologize to her...she really seemed hurt..._

Hinata was ready to accept the fact that her conscience wasn't even human. In that first encounter, her doing things like licking her cheek, scratching her ear, and exposing all her teeth when she laughed...it was too weird.

_But how do I find her?_

Hinata closed her eyes once more and tried to remember the place where she had first met her.

A forest...filled with oaks and willows...

A thin path...barely able to detect through the trees...

The silver willow...the largest tree of all, right in the center...

As she described the forest in her mind, Hinata felt a cool wind blowing over her face. The air, became a lot fresher and easy to breathe in. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was lying on her back in a grassy clearing.

She slowly got to her feet and saw the giant, stately willow right in front her, the silver and pink leaves making a rustling sound in the wind. The low limbs made a barrier around the trunk and hid any view of it.

_I made it...but where is she?_

Hinata swept aside the curtain of branches and stepped quietly inside the shelter. The silver trunk was right in front of her now, but there was no outline of a woman on it. Confused, she was about to go and touch the trunk when an unseen force knocked her down onto her stomach.

Before she could get back up she felt something large press on to her back. Turning her head as much as she could, she saw a large light purple paw was the source of the pressure. Each digit was like a finger, but it was definitely a paw. It's claws were coming out; they were halfway out of their sheathes, but not quite touching her skin. Yet.

"State your purpose here," a sharp, feminine voice growled out.

"Let go of me first," Hinata snapped back. After a few seconds the paw lifted off her back and she turned around, wanting to see who-or what-it belonged to.

Standing in front of her was a large snow- white wolf, so big that it could look her right in the eye without tilting it's head up. _She's twice as big as Akamaru..._

She had a tapered muzzle, sharp black eyes and a small purple diamond-shaped spot on it's forehead.(Similar to Tsunade's, but slightly bigger.) It had long, muscular legs and paws bigger than her open hand. Lavender fur ran halfway up each leg, only to be replaced by white fur the rest of the way upwards. The ears, Hinata noticed, were not those of an ordinary wolf. They were large and ended in a point, but they were floppy; they bent forward in the middle so that they nearly covered the eyes. It's figure was slender, but there was a ruff of bushy fur around the next.

But what was most remarkable about it was that it had five long bushy tails. The tip of each tail was a different color. Starting from the left, the colors were red, steel-gray, light blue(middle tail), brown and gold. All the tails except for the red and gold ones were glowing brightly. Those two stayed a dull white.

The wolf continued glaring at her, as if expecting an answer. Before she could say an answer, it's expression changed from hostile to calm. The tips of each tail slowly turned lavender, then completely white.

"_Hinata_," It said quietly. It didn't open it's mouth to speak. _She must be telepathic..._

"Y-yes...?"

"_Did you finally figure it out yet?_"

Hinata nodded, returning it's stare. "Y-you are a five-tailed wolf."

"_The five-tailed dog, you mean. I am known as the Gobi, or Houkou."_

"You...are a demon?" Hinata had recalled her father telling her about the tailed beasts that wreaked havoc in different parts of the world. She could remember him mentioning a dog with five tails. _But why is the five tails inside me? That means...I'm a jinchuuriki, like Naruto and Gaara._

The Gobi(five tails) stared at her. _"You mean to say that it took you this long to realize that when everyone reading this figured it out two chapters ago?"_(Just ignore that last sentence.)

"Huh?"

"_Ugh. Never mind_." The Gobi walked slowly around her, back toward her tree. With a grunt of effort she carefully lay down at the base of the trunk. "_Come here_," she said.

No longer feeling afraid, Hinata sat with her legs crossed in front of her.

Seeing that she was comfortable, the Gobi spoke again, this time using her mouth.

"I suppose you want an explanation as to why I am inside you. Your mother wanted me to tell you the truth when you became an adult. How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

The dog nodded. "I thought so. Now, what I am about to tell you will be very upsetting. And no matter how alone you think you are, I will always be there for you. That is a promise I made many years ago. Are you ready, or do you want to hear it some other time?"

Hinata sighed. "I doubt that you could tell me anything that could make me feel even worse. Please tell me."

The Gobi nodded grimly. "Wise decision. But it would make more sense if I show you."

"Show me?"

"Yes. But first, you need to know a bit about your mother's background."

The dog settled herself more comfortably before speaking telepathically.

_Sora Hyuuga was never a true Hyuuga. In fact, nobody knows who her real family is. One day, a traveler came to the village of Konoha, a child about two years old in his arms. He knocked on the door of a random house and when a woman opened it, he pushed the little girl toward her. No words needed to be spoken. He didn't have the time or the money to support a child, so he turned to the first person he found. He never even bade his child good bye. All he did was turn and go away the way he came._

_Naturally, this woman couldn't bear to leave the child out in the cold. So she took in the girl and named her Sora, for her eyes were the color of the sky. You see, Hinata, Sora was taken in by the Inuzuka family. Yes, the same family that your little friend Kiba belongs to._

"You mean to say I'm related to Kiba?" Hinata's eyes were wide in shock.

"_Not by blood, but he is almost like a relative, no?"_

Hinata fell silent. Gobi took this as a cue to continue.

_Sora was well loved by her new family. She especially adored her new big sister, Tsume. They often played together as kids. On your mother's eighth birthday she surprised the entire Inuzuka household by bonding with one of the puppies. Her sister already had one she named Kuromaru, so she was very excited that she now had a lifetime bond to one as well. She named her Byakko, because of her white coat. After this, Sora was finally recognized as a true Inuzuka. The two of them were among the best fighters in Konoha. The trouble all started when she met that snot-nosed, leech-faced, son of a jackass Hiashi Hyuuga._

_Tsume...that's Kiba's mother, _Hinata thought

"Wh-what do you mean?

"_I will tell you in a few minutes." _

_Anyway, a little over twenty two years ago, Hiashi decided that he wanted your mother to bear his children. He wanted the best for himself, and, to put it simply, Sora was one of the best kunoichi out there. I think he may have once loved her, but whether or not he truly did, he would always put his wretched clan before her. Well, they spent time together and Sora eventually fell in love with him as well. The only one who didn't trust him was Byakko. Byakko was a direct descendant of mine, and she was pregnant with her second litter when things went downhill. If Hiashi so much as went near her she would try to attack him. Her pregnancy sharpened her instincts, and those instincts told her he was a danger to her, her unborn pups, and her beloved master Sora. She tried to warn Sora time and time again, but she never listened. Sora was blinded by love. And...they had you and Hanabi out of wedlock, but only the Hokage knew that they weren't married. Everyone else assumed they were._

The Gobi stopped. "_Do you want me to tell you the rest of the story right now? It is the most difficult part to tell, and to listen to. Your mother's death was no accident."_

Hinata wiped away the wetness around her eyes. She could remember a white dog that played with her when she was a toddler. "I barely remember mom. And I can't even remember Byakko well. I forgot completely about her until you said her name. If my mother is gone, then what happened to Byakko?"

The Gobi gave her a level stare and moved closer, her tails wrapping around the young heiress in an almost protective way. _"If you want to know Byakko's fate, then I will have to show you the rest of the story."_

Hinata nodded. "Please...do not stop anymore. I want to know the whole story."

As soon as she said this the Gobi stared directly into her eyes. Everything fell dark...

_Hinata opened her eyes. She was in a room...a room that seemed familiar. With a jolt, she realized she was in her house. She was standing in the large living room. _

_Hearing a sound behind her she turned and saw a beautiful woman sit on a couch, clutching her forehead. Tears were streaming down her face. A moment later, a man who she recognized as her own father approached and sat next to her, trying to console the woman._

"_Sora, please forgive me for this...it was the only way they would have let you live..." He gathered her into his arms. _

"_H-Hiashi...why?" She sobbed out. She looked up at her husband with sad blue eyes. Hiashi brushed some of her blue-and -black hair out of them. Hinata gasped when she saw the familiar caged bird seal on her forehead._

_Neither of them seemed to notice that Hinata was standing there in the room. Even when she stood in front of them, they didn't seem to see or hear her. _

"_Sora...will you ever forgive me?" Hiashi rested his chin on her head, eyes closed in sadness. _

_After what seemed like a long time, she nodded. _

"_Um...Hiashi?" She scooted away from him and looked down at her hands._

"_Yes, my princess?" She smiled at his nickname for her. _

"_I'm pregnant again."_

_As they embraced in a warm hug, Hinata saw a movement in the next room. Leaving her parents to celebrate the pregnancy (no doubt her mom was pregnant with her) she went to investigate. Walking ahead of her was a white dog, whom she assumed was Byakko. She followed the white dog outside, where another one was waiting. This dog was mostly black, and seemed strangely familiar to Hinata. She could vaguely remember seeing him before, but where? Byakko nuzzled him for a moment, then ran off and disappeared._

_Several seconds she reappeared, a gray puppy in her jaws. She dropped it at the black dog's feet and left again, this time returning with two more gray puppies._

"_Take them to Hana and let her raise them. I will never trust Hiashi around the pups, or my Sora."_

_The black dog picked all three of them up in his mouth and bounded off. That was when everything went blank._

Hinata found herself with Gobi again. "That was my mom, wasn't it?" The dog nodded.

"But why does she have the seal?"

The Gobi snorted. "Frankly, I have no idea right now. But thereis still more to see."

_Once again, Hinata found herself in a room of the Hyuuga manor. This time, it was the dining room. Her father was sitting next to an elder Hyuuga._

"_Hiashi, you now have two daughters and no sons. You will have to accept the eldest as heiress to the clan."_

_Hiashi sipped his tea. "I understand, but I see no reason to put that thing in my child. Surely there is another way."_

_The old man narrowed his eyes. "Hiashi, we all have to make sacrifices. You cannot choose Sora over the clan, you know. Besides, she was never a Hyuuga. You can always get another wife. A wife who can bear you a son."_

_Hiashi sighed. "I suppose you are right. If the Uchihas have their weapon, then we must also use ours."_

_The old man leaned forward in his seat. "The collar...you took it from the Inuzukas, right?"_

"_Yes...the beast is sealed in here. And the Inuzukas will only assume that it escaped and ran off."_

_Hiashi put a spiked black collar on the table. _

"_NO!" The two men turned around in their seats to see Byakko standing in the doorway. Her belly was large and swollen; she was also panting heavily._

"_I refuse to let_ _you use my Sora as a host!" the white dog growled out. "I will tell her right now." She jumped on to the table and grabbed the collar in her mouth, then whirled around and ran out. _

_Hiashi and the elder got up and ran after her, and Hinata did the same. Soon they were outdoors, in the grassy training grounds of the Hyuuga compound. _

_Hiashi was gaining on her. Before he could grab Byakko the same black dog from before jumped in front of him, snarling._

_Hiashi unsheathed a katana and slashed at the black dog. He dodged the sword and told Byakko to continue running. _

_The black dog stood up on his hind legs, towering over Hiashi. Claws outstretched, he struck the Hyuuga leader in the head with a huge paw. Hiashi slipped from under him and put distance between them._

_While Byakko jumped the fence, Hiashi slashed at the black dog again, this time managing to strike him. The black dog crashed to the ground, unmoving. He was bleeding from where one ear was now missing. Where one of his eyes used to be was now a mass of crimson blood streaming out of an empty socket. _

_In the distance, Hinata heard the sound of people calling the names of 'Hiashi' and 'Kuromaru'._

_Hiashi looked up to see Sora, Tsume Inuzuka, and Byakko running back toward him. _

_Tsume screamed when she saw the state her dog was in. "Kuromaru!" she screamed then collapsed by his side, sobbing. Kuromaru made an effort to get to his feet again, then fell once more. "Kiba will be devastated..."_

"_Hiashi...what is this?" Sora asked. She looked as if she couldn't believe her husband could do such a thing._

"_He tried to kill the children. I thought he was wild, so I was only defending them," Hiashi said calmly._

"_Liar!" It was Byakko, who had been nosing frantically at Kuromaru's fur. "You should know my mate when you see him!" She stood over him protectively._

_She turned to Sora. "Sora, please believe me now. He plans to use you as -" Her words were cut off as Hiashi ran his katana right through the white dog's side... Byakko stiffened, eyes wide with horror. She jumped away and staggered._

"_Hiashi!" Sora screamed. She tried to hold back her husband, but he paid no heed to her protests. Byakko let out a loud whimper as he gentle-fisted her right in the heart. She knelt by her dog, who's eyes were growing dim. "My pups, your pups, save them, and leave the village,"she whimpered before she closed her eyes, never to open them again. _

_Kuromaru scrambled up, ignoring the pain. He limped over to the dead Byakko and nosed her. His remaining eye was filled with mixed emotions._

"_We have to save them," he said quietly. He took the scruff of her neck in his jaws and dragged her away, in the direction of the Inuzuka house. _

_The collar lay forgotten in the grass. The elder Hyuuga picked it up without anybody noticing._

_Sora walked up to her husband and struck him sharply across the face. He didn't say anything, only looked at her with anger and sorrow. She walked to Kuromaru and Tsume. Reaching down, she picked up Byakko in both her arms and ran away. She would do as her dear old friend wished, and save her children._

Hinata stared blankly; even when the forest reappeared around her, she didn't move a muscle.

Gobi stood up. She bent down in front of Hinata and said in a low voice:

"That night, Hiashi sealed me inside you. Sora tried to leave the village with you and Hanabi, but he caught her and forced her to come back. He sacrificed her in order to finish the sealing process. He also did something to Tsume and Kuromaru to make them forget what happened."

Hinata looked up. Surprisingly, her eyes held not tears, but determination. "You came into contact with her?"

"Yes. Before their souls moved on, Sora and Byakko gave me access to their memories, which is how I showed you all of this, except for the sealing. I promised your mom I would support both you and Hanabi in her absence. And as for Byakko...I am very proud of her."

Hinata wiped swiftly at her eyes. She crawled forward and hugged the demon. "Thank you Gobi. For telling me this." Gobi looked surprised, then closed her eyes happily. She wasn't used to receiving affection. She was also shocked her host didn't resent her. Maybe Hinata was just good at hiding her feelings. She took the news well.

"You, know, child, Gobi is not my real name." Hinata looked at the demon. "What is it?"

The demon laughed. "I have many. Mutt, Mongrel, Yuki, Mizu, Terra, Willow, _Monster_." She gave Hinata a hard look. "My true name is Houkou, ever since I gained the title of five tails. Just choose one. I want a new name anyway."

Hinata thought for a minute. "Can I call you Willow for now?"

Willow nodded. "As you wish. And from this day forward, I will be taking you under my wing in training."

"_More _training.?" Hinata couldn't believe her ears. On top of Deidara, Itachi and Kisame training her, she didn't think she could handle training while asleep as well. _I'm already an ANBU...why do I need training all of a sudden?_ Willow began to circle around her, her tails trailing in the grass.

"Yes. With or without me, you have the potential to become one of the greatest ninja the world has ever seen." Hinata's eyes widened. "Just think...you could have all the Shinobi nations at your mercy...and seek revenge for those you lost at the hands of your father."

Hinata looked at the grass. _The greatest...and every nation under my power..._

"You need to learn new techniques only jinchuuriki can learn. I have techniques only we can use."

"Willow. I do not wish to rule all the nations..."

"Maybe not, but what about your father?" She looked steadily into Hinata's eyes. "You may have lost your mother, but I lost four descendants that day. Only one of Byakko's second litter lived. He practically destroyed _my_ family. I have almost no one left,"she said bitterly.

Hinata felt guilty for her father's actions. She felt as if it were her fault that the Inuzukas had been caused so much grief by him. And even the demon was affected by his deeds.

Willow sighed. "It's no use beating yourself up about it. None of it is your fault. Now get some sleep. Dream about your little boyfriend or whatever."

"B-boyfriend!?"

"What, don't you go out with him? What's with all the kissing and the arguing then? Only a real couple does that." Willow was plainly enjoying this.

"N-no! It's not like that!" Hinata was spluttering, her face so red it was on the brink of turning purple.

"Oho. I see. You _like_ him, right? Don't think I never catch you looking at him occasionally."

"But-"

"Good night, my little lovesick pup! Sweet dreams!" Willow walked to her tree and disappeared inside it. A second later, an outline of a dog appeared on the trunk.

Everything grew dark once more. Then...

Hinata sat up in her bed. It was morning. Though she had been with Willow all night, she felt as if she had a full night's sleep.

Looking forward to the new day, she washed up and put on a pair of shorts (the perverted ones, yes) and another tank top. She briefly wondered who bought these clothes in the first place. They were mostly shorts and tank tops.

Went she went down to the kitchen, the others were already there. Kisame was in his bloodline form again, while Deidara and Sasori were having a quarrel about what true art was. Itachi was casually eating his cereal while reading a paper. Hinata sat down across from him. The eldest Uchiha gave her the briefest of glances before getting back to his paper.

_Lovesick puppy? Yeah right! He is the most ignorant, self-absorbed baka I have ever met!_ She fumed inwardly.

Kisame set down his mug. "Kid, you missed it last night. Right after you left, there was a huge brawl." He chuckled. "Heh. If only I had Samehada with me, things would've been sweeter."

Deidara turned around from his argument. He was holding an ice pack to his head."Yeah, but who was it that began chucking beer bottles across the room, yeah?"

"Don't be such a pussy, dollface. It's not my fault some guy smashed a glass over your head. You should have seen him coming from a mile away."

"I couldn't because one of my contacts fell out, yeah!"

"You wear contacts?"

"I started wearing them after I saw your ugly mug when I first joined."

"Say that to my face, you -"

"Please,"said Hinata before things got out of hand. "Can't we all just get along?"

All of them, including Itachi turned and faced her. "No,"they said in unison.

"Fair enough," she said in a small voice.

"Well, blondie, so far as I'm concerned I think Leader was a bit thick in the head to let you in to Akatsuki in the first place! You look so girly, he probably wanted you for eye candy."

Miles away Leader sneezed. "Huh. Must be allergy season."

"That is not the point, Mr. Creature from the Black Lagoon."

"Heh. What about the time you had a real fight with Itachi?"

"Yeah, so what? I beat him, yeah."

"Uh, no you didn't. First of all, Itachi had a handicap. His arms and legs were tied together, he was blindfolded, _and _we chained an anvil to each leg. And in the end, _you _were the one who looked beaten up. He had barely a scratch on him."

"Yeah, but he forfeited."

"Only because he hit you with the anvil and realized how pointless the entire fight was."

Hinata gave up on calming them down and instead decided to eat as much of her breakfast as she could before someone overturned the table. As she chewed quietly on her cereal, she felt a familiar gaze burning into her skin. When she glanced up, she wasn't surprised to see Itachi looking straight at her.

Hinata shyly looked him right in the eye. Instead of turning away, Itachi kept staring back, as if he was challenging her. The sounds of the quarrel died away as they kept watching the other, neither blinking nor flinching in any way.

Eventually the other three noticed this and fell silent, preferring to watch the unusual proceedings going on between their captive and the sharingan user.

Hinata was still gripping her fork tightly, as if it was the only thing that held a connection to the world outside her mind. She did not want to avert her gaze from Itachi. If she wanted to gain his trust and prove the strength of her will, she had to look him in the eye. One wrong move and he would see right through her plans.

_I don't see how...I can stare at his eyes forever, but never learn anything about him..._ She narrowed her eyes slightly in an effort to look intimidating.

"What's this? A little staring contest?" Kisame chuckled. Neither Hinata or Itachi responded, or made any inclination that they heard his comment.

_Why are you staring at me like this? What did I ever do to you?_

"You know what? I think these two lovebirds are having a little 'moment' together, yeah."Deidara smirked, his blue eyes sweeping over the two of them.

Hinata turned red as soon as she heard his comment. "U-um, is it all right if I go training right now?" She stood up, deliberately breaking her eye contact with Itachi.

Deidara waved his hand carelessly. "Do whatever. Go to the lake, yeah."

Hinata's eyes brightened. "Really?"_Now I have a chance to practice nii-san's fighting techniques._

"Yeah. Just don't try to escape. We'll know, yeah. Be back by five."

"Um...thank you. There is a new technique that I want to work on." She bowed gratefully and cleared the table.

Itachi turned to his friend. "You're not going after her?"

Deidara shook his head. "Even if she wants to escape, she knows she has no chance at the moment. She'll be biding her time, yeah. She does need a bit more space though."

"Hn." His gaze turned back to the kunoichi. She was busy washing the dishes. Apparently, she hadn't heard them.

When Hinata finally left Itachi decided to go to town. Just to buy some weapons and supplies, right?

As soon as Itachi left Kisame turned to Deidara.

"Blondie,"he grunted.

"Yeah, Sharkface?"

"I just realized...we could get Weasel-boy to like the kid."

Deidara looked at him from under his mane of golden hair. "Why would we have to do that, yeah?"

Kisame beckoned for him to lean closer. "If he falls for her, then he would be in a good mood all the time, right?"

"I think he would kill her before falling in love, yeah."

"Blond baka. If he's smitten for her, that means _we _would be less likely to draw attention to ourselves. In other words, he won't try to kill us..."

Deidara considered this for a second. "I still think Hinata's going to end up dead if this doesn't work out, yeah."

"Well, o wise blond fool, what do you suggest?"

"I have an idea, Sharkface...and it involves knitting, yeah."

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

As for Itachi, after three hours he found himself walking right through the village gates, toward the direction of the lake. _I only need to check on her for a few minutes...just to make sure she didn't do something stupid like drown in the lake._

He also decided that he wouldn't let himself be seen.

When he got to the lake he wasn't surprised to see her doing exactly as she said she would: training.

_She is too honest for her own good. _With that thought in his mind he hid himself on a leafy tree branch to watch the show. She had already been gone for a few hours so he was curious to see her fighting style. He remembered the first training session he had with her; he hadn't really given her a chance to do anything, had he?

Hinata was battling singlehandedly against five of her water clones. Itachi watched, an expression of interest etched onto his face.

She was expertly maneuvering what looked like a long bo staff. The other Hinatas were using various ninjutsu and taijustu attacks against her. With his sharingan activated, he was able to see which one was the real Hinata as she defended herself against her clones. Her body was glistening with perspiration; she had been fighting for a long time, way before he came.

One of the clones did a few hand signs then punched her fist into the earth. A few seconds later several tree roots erupted out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the real Hinata. She slithered quickly out of them like a cat and began the same technique he had seen her using two weeks ago. This time, it was obvious she had greatly improved it.

Instead of creating a spiral of water and another of wind separately, she only made a spiral of water that spun around her body. Then she did something that impressed the Uchiha; she clamped her hands together, face screwed in concentration. And right before his eyes, 'elementally recomposed'

the water into ice.

This was different. Before, she had used wind to make the water cold until she froze by mixing them together _after_ they were formed into spirals. Now, just like in chidori, she had learned to form an element to fit her needs right away, without having to use several different techniques just to get the same result.

_So she's gone that far in two weeks...good._

Seeing that it was now ice shards that surrounded her like a shield, she recomposed the ice until each shard resembled a spearhead. Her clones were unable to get to her through the shield of ice; just as one was about to slam what looked like a ball of energy into it, the shield suddenly exploded outward, making the spearheads of ice embed themselves in trees. And in her clones. Every one of them were 'dead', a dozen spearheads of ice sticking out of their bodies. Hinata sat down under Itachi's tree and rested while they all 'poofed' away.

It was while she was sitting there that he realized he had unknowingly copied her techniques with his sharingan. Hinata undoubtedly would be annoyed if she knew. Being an Uchiha, he had too much pride to steal someone else's technique and use it. Still, the techniques he just saw looked useful. He would probably remember them for another day. He pulled an ice shard out of his arm. He hadn't noticed it when it hit him.

Itachi looked down at her, his eyes narrowed. Hinata was getting stronger bit by bit every day. It was a fact; she would never grow stronger than him, but she could certainly defeat him in battle(occasionally) if she put her heart into it. He briefly wondered if he could ever teach her any of his own techniques. When he tried that with Deidara several years ago, it didn't work. The Stone ninja was unable to use the lightning techniques, although he learned how to use fire better. Hinata, however was different. She was his own opposite, yet they were similar in ways he didn't want to think about.

Hinata had the ability to use three types of ninja elements, which was unheard of. Having two of them was very common among ninjas.

_The houkou allows her to use every element, but is truly skilled in wind, water and earth..._

_it needs a partner in order to use the other_ _two..._

Hinata stood up and peeled off her tank top, revealing a sports bra which, fortunately, covered her chest rather well.

_She destroys and heals nature..._

Sighing deeply, she did a few hand signs and summoned two water clones. Each clone was armed with a wakizashi, a shorter sword usually accompanied with a katana. Itachi smirked. Only Shisui could have taught her this. After tying on a blindfold, she got into a defensive pose.

_but is loved and feared by all..._

The water clones raised their wakizashis and charged at her. Hinata waited until they got close enough, then ducked under their swords. Metal clanged against metal as the swords struck each other. The water clones spun around and separated, trying to trap the real Hinata between them. She was now backed against the tree Itachi was in. Though she was aware of the danger she was in, she never pulled her blindfold off.

_it possesses power too great to handle..._

One of the water clones jumped almost on top of her to make a swipe that nearly sliced her cheek, forcing her to throw herself backwards on her back, then roll over before the other clone took advantage of her unprotective position. After completing her roll she was back on her feet in an instant.

_power that will inevitably to it's own destruction..._

Hinata dodged another swipe, this one aimed at her mid section. As the clone was trying to regain her balance Hinata moved in and attacked for the first time. Without using any chakra, she drove her bare fist right into the clone's face.

Instead of 'poofing' into nonexistence like other clones, the struck clone dropped to the ground for a few seconds, then got slowly to her feet again. It had a broken nose. _Hmph. Good punch._

Ever since the beginning of the fight Itachi had noticed a clicking sound that never stopped. As Hinata climbed up his tree to avoid her other clone, the clicking came closer. It took him a few seconds to realize she was the one emitting the clicking noises from her mouth. She swiftly jumped to his branch and was about to make another attack on her clone when she realized someone else was occupying it already. Itachi watched in anticipation as she clicked again, then motioned her clones over to come beside her. Her face was about a foot in front of his, then her hand moved forward slowly, until her fingers gently touched his face.

She smirked as if she had confirmed something in her mind, then drew her fist back and shot it out toward him. Being the genius of the Uchiha clan, her saw her move coming and effortlessly slid to a lower branch. She hadn't seemed to realize it was him; she must have assumed it was a weaker enemy ninja and was just toying with him by keeping the blindfold on. She was able to use a sort of sonic wave that pinpointed his position, for she had launched herself downward, a kunai in her hand toward him. By clicking, she was able to 'see' what obstacles were in front of her.

Although he could have just told her to cut it out, he kept quiet and decided to let her do things her own way. It was his chance to see her fight honestly, without the knowledge that she was fighting someone familiar.

Hinata was surprised when she landed an another branch. She had expected to land on the ninja, not on a tree limb. Startled, she let out another click and listened. Nothing in front of her. Feeling as if an impending doom was coming upon her, she jumped out of the tree. Instructing her clones to disappear, she listened again. Gritting her teeth, she released a wave of chakra that swept 360 degrees around her. It extended to forty feet in all directions, then flowed back into her body. She felt through her chakra that there was something or someone behind her. Spinning, she faked to the left then turned and jumped on her attacker. Only to have him 'poof' away.

_A clone..._

She was worried; it was probably a Cloud ninja or something. At least once a year some Cloud ninja or another had been sent to kidnap her. Of course they never even made it through the village gates, but it still had her on high alert. She let out several more clicks, but none of them bounced back to her.

Common sense told her to take off the blindfold, but using senses other than sight allowed her to evade attacks without being fooled. Sight was essential, but it was also very distracting during close range fighting. Hinata gasped as she sensed a presence right behind her. Whipping around, she executed a spinning kick which was blocked. Her enemy grabbed her leg, and before she knew it she was spun around and let go. She nearly crash landed in a tree but managed to get her hands and feet stuck to a branch with chakra.

Pissed, she swept her arm toward her unknown enemy. Immediately a stream of water from the lake flew toward him. No matter how she controlled it, the ninja always was able to dodge the stream.

Itachi made a sharp turn as the stream of water headed toward him. A second later he heard a 'thunk' sound. Turning his head an inch he saw that it had cut right through a tree that was behind him.

Keeping his sharingan on, he held out his arm and froze the stream for a second, then watched it dissipate into thin air. Behind him he heard an exhausted sigh. _She's been training for too long...she's weakened._

Making hand signs, she made several tree roots burst from the ground and wrap tightly around her attacker. Once she was sure he had been caught, she came closer and took off her blindfold.

"Wh-what the...? It's you!" she shouted, half angry half relieved. That baka let himself get caught on purpose!

Itachi smirked. He didn't seem to mind being trapped. There were thick tree roots wrapped around his chest and legs. "Aren't you glad to see me? I certainly thought so."

Hinata sank to the ground, head in her hands. All that fighting, and it was Itachi!? He could have just killed her!

She looked up at the trapped Uchiha. "Why would I be glad to see you?"

Itachi closed his eyes and smirked. He loved messing with her. He simply liked seeing her uncomfortable.

"Well, I thought you were putting on a show for me when you took your top off. Of course I was flattered..."

"What?"

"Hmph. Now that you have me tied up, it would seem that I am at your mercy. If that's what you wanted, then torture me as much you like." His expression clearly showed he would enjoy being 'tortured'.

Hinata was blushing. "I never knew you were here in the first place! You can find your own way out of the trap. I don't care."

She turned around to walk away only to bump(nose first) into something firm...

As she looked up into Itachi's smirking face, she couldn't help thinking of how he even escaped that fast. Her nose smarted painfully. _Such hard abs..._

"You were saying?" He picked up her tank top from the ground and walked away.

"Hey! Come back with that!"

"Hn. Hell no, Sunshine."

"Give it!" She was seriously pissed off. _Good. What a baka..._

"No. Grow a bit more."

Itachi's bored expression never faltered as he kept holding it up out of her reach. She was wearing her sports bra, but obviously felt more comfortable with her top on._ Yes...messing with her really does have it's benefits..._

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Itachi eventually gave it back to her, although deep in his heart he wished he didn't. She had made sure it covered her up well, then made a fast beeline back to the village. And she was blushing. Even more fiercely than usual. He took his time getting home. He wasn't in any particular hurry.

When he got back, Hinata had changed into a hooded sweatshirt and was playing cards with Deidara on the living room floor. She looked happy and carefree, the way she always was with Deidara. The only time he had ever made her happy was when he showed her the ocean last night. But Deidara managed to make her happy just by _talking _to her. More than he, the genius of the Uchiha clan had ever done.

_Why am I even thinking about that? If she proves to be weak, she'll be gone anyway. No use talking to her at all. _

"Bullshit, Hinata. Yeah," said Deidara pointing a finger at the card on top of the pile. Hinata grinned and showed it to him. "Believe me now?" she said in a sweet voice.

"Smart-ass kunoichis..." Deidara pouted and shifted the card pile into his hand. He then noticed Itachi standing in the doorway, wearing the most expressionless expression he had ever seen.

"Oy, weasel-boy, wanna join us, yeah?"

"No." He looked at Hinata, who had put up her hood and was nervously shuffling her cards.

"U-um...m-maybe we could play something else, then?" she suggested shyly. Itachi glared down at her for a second, wondering what was going on with her.

"How about something like Truth or Dare, yeah?" Hinata paled and glanced nervously at the blond Akatsuki member. "We should play that when we have more people with us,"she replied.

At that precise moment Sasori, Hidan and Kisame burst into the room.

_Now that is what I call bad luck, _said Willow from within Hinata's mind.

"Soooo...what are we all doing?" asked Hidan, flashing a brilliant white smile. He sat down next to Hinata and kissed her hand, making the said girl blush.

Itachi sat down on her other side. He didn't know why(Itachi's a dummy sometimes :3 ) but he hated the thought of Hidan being so close to her. He was the one responsible for her, but Sunshine was closer to everyone else. Not that he cared. (whoo, denial! -reader stomps over- "Narutochica, shut the hell up and finish writing this, baka-chan." All right, I'll shut up!)

"Um...we were going to play truth or dare. Want to join us?"

"Would I refuse as lovely a lady as you?" His smooth voice _was _attractive, she had to admit.

"Weasel boy, Sasori, Kisame, get your fat butts down here, yeah." Deidara called up from the floor. "You're playing as well."

"Oh. Lovely." said Sasori in a voice that suggested he felt the opposite.

"Hmph. Move over." Kisame settled himself between Hidan and Deidara. "Fine. Who starts first?"

"Hidan?" Sasori suggested. "Which one? Truth or Dare."

"Dare."

"Stop sacrificing people for your crazy rituals for a week. It's sick."

Hidan looked shocked. "But what about my god Jashin?"

Deidara rolled his blue eyes(he had taken off his scope). "Who cares about your god? You most likely made him up as an excuse to kill people. Not that the rest of us are much better, yeah."

Hidan stood up. "Look, boy, want to take this outside? You and me. One on one."

"Un.All right, yeah. Whoever wins gets to-"

"Can we please get on with the game?" Hinata spoke up. _I'm not in the mood for a total bloodbath, Willow._

_Keep your claws sharp, my dear. Who knows when things could go wrong._

"Whatever,"said Hidan impatiently. "Kisame, you're next."

"Truth"came Kisame's gruff answer.

"Did you ever...you know...get...laid?" he said the last word so quietly it was almost impossible to hear.

"Yeah. Want me to prove it?"

"How?"

"Lemme borrow your phone a sec..."

Kisame took Hidan's cell and typed a number into it. After some seconds of talking in a low voice to a woman on the other end, he handed it to Hidan. Hidan paled as soon as the woman on the other end began speaking to him.

A minute later Hidan snapped shut his phone. "I am forever traumatized," he rasped. "Kisame, I never thought you had _it _in you."

Before Kisame could strike him with Samehada, Deidara got in between them.

"My turn. Truth, yeah."

Kisame leaned his head against his hand, as if trying to find the perfect question. "Sasori, you decide for me, will you?"

Sasori wasted no time. "You go off to visit your girlfriend during missions, but I want to know whether she's real or not. Describe her for me."

Deidara closed his eyes dreamily, as if imagining her. "She's very pretty. Long, light blonde hair...blue eyes...fiery temper...and under her tough exterior is a kind heart, yeah..."

Hinata smiled sadly. _Are you jealous of him? _Willow asked quietly.

"_A little. I wish I can care for someone as much as he cares for his girlfriend..."_

Willow sighed_. "I know how you feel. I had someone like that..."_

"_Really? What happened to him?"_

She could imagine Willow dropping to the ground, head on her paws and floppy ears sagging even lower. _"I'd rather not say right now."_

"_It's all right, Willow. I won't make you."_

Hinata turned her attention back to the Akatsuki men. Deidara was thinking of a dare for Sasori.

"Sasori, I want you to grow your hair out, yeah. You can't boss me around on every mission without facing some kind of consequence."

Sasori smirked.(Ack! He smirked!) "That was a bit weak. I thought I taught you better."

"Don't be like that yeah!"

"Excuse me, kohai?"

Deidara gave Sasori a dirty look.

"Itachi, your turn. Actually, Kisame should decide for me, since I had to for him."

Kisame grunted. "Fair enough, Pinnochio. Itachi?"

"Truth."

"Right. What kind of girls do you prefer? Cute or hot?"

Hinata sucked in her breath. She hated these questions. They always made her feel self-conscious about herself. Guys had never shown any interest in her. The more people spoke about stuff like this, the more she felt hurt. In spirit, and in her heart...

'_Maybe because I'm ugly,' _she thought without remembering to make it private. Unfortunately, she was careless enough to leave that thought available for Willow to hear.

"_Never call yourself ugly, girl. You are very pretty. Plenty of males watch you, right?"_

"_If they do, I never noticed it..."_

"_Next time you go out, you'll see..."_

Deidara was watching Hinata very closely. He looked slowly at Sasori and caught his eye. The older man nodded. They both noticed how nervous she was.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. Though he was right next to her, he didn't return Hinata's questioning glance. "Hmph. Why should I care? To me, all they are good for is-"

"Well," Deidara broke in before he said something that would upset the only female in the room. It was as if he was trying his best to make her sad. Maybe even break her spirit. _Damn you Itachi...can you not see it yourself?_ "I'm in between. My woman is cute _and _hot."

Kisame spoke up as well. "Hot. Cute girls are too cunning."

"I lean more toward hot myself,"said Sasori surprising everyone.

"I don't give a flip as to what you all like. As for me...I prefer girls that are hot..._and _cute." Hidan was looking right at Hinata as he said all this. He had noticed how sad she looked.

Hinata looked down shyly at her lap and allowed herself a little smile.

She felt truly grateful to Hidan after he said that. Itachi noticed and narrowed his eyes even more.

"Do you not prefer any type of woman?" Kisame asked looking at him with wide eyes. Itachi glared at him with his sharingan activated so he decided to drop it.

"Hinata. Truth or Dare?" Itachi asked her.

She decided to play it safe and say truth.

"Have you ever been asked out? This doesn't include all the guys at the bar."

Hinata's eyes widened when she heard the question.

"_Dammit, Willow, I can't answer that question..."_

"_You mean...you've never been asked?"_

"_I-I can' t do this..."_

"_...do you want me to come out there?" _She had a brief vision of Willow appearing and destroying everything. Not a pretty sight.

"_No. I'll do it."_

"No, Itachi, I have never been asked out. Does that satisfy you?" She hissed her reply and fixed the Uchiha with a cold glare.

"Yes. I am very much satisfied," he said, his voice cold and calm.

The entire room fell silent. Finally Deidara broke the tension. "Hidan, your turn now, yeah."

"Dare."

Hinata tried to think up something good. "I dare you to visit us more often. I...I like hanging out with you." Hidan smirked and squeezed her hand gently.

"I'll come whenever I can," he said in her ear.

On her other side she felt Itachi tense ever so slightly. _What's his problem? Bastard..._

Deidara fell over backward, banging his already sore head against Sasori's dragon puppet. "What kind of dare was that, yeah? You went so easy on him!"

"Quiet blondie. Kisame, what do you want?" Hidan smirked.

"Dare."

"Blondie, why don't you take this one for me. Let's see you give him a good dare."

Deidara smirked evilly. "Kisame...I dare you to learn how to knit. Starting now."

"Aw, dammit you -censored censored censored- that is the lowest thing you could do to me! Ever since that incident with the llama-" He clamped his hand over his mouth.

"What llama?" Hinata asked trying to suppress a giggle.

"Nothing. Excuse me a second." Kisame got up and left the room. A minute later he returned with blue and white yarn, knitting needles and an old book under his arm.

Sasori sighed, shaking his head. "Hinata, help him, will you?"

Hinata, trying to hide her smile instructed him on how to hold the needles and begin.

A minute later...

"Knit one purl two knit one purl two knit one purl two..." Kisame was muttering under his voice.

The knitting needles clacked together while he kept winding yarn around them and pulling it through loops.

"Hey, think you can make me a scarf?" Hidan asked teasingly. "My neck feels cold."

"How about I make a noose instead? It'll fit nice and tight around your neck...that'll warm you up a bit."

Next was Deidara. He was dared to do a magic act(not going into detail) that resulted in Hidan and Hinata simultaneously going into coughing fits.

"Ugh, why do you gotta blow up something indoors," Hidan hissed. "I have asthma, you know."

"Er, are you all right, yeah?" Deidara asked Hinata while ignoring Hidan.

"Yeah. I always cough around smoke." She gave him a forgiving smile.

"Will you look at that, Deidara? You're really trying to destroy my house, aren't you?" Sasori pointed to the ceiling. Right above them, there was a huge circle of black soot on the ceiling.

"Wow." Said Kisame.

"That's hot, yeah" said Deidara in an awestruck voice. "Now that is a piece of art."

Sasori put his head in his hands. _I can see my house engulfed within a fiery blast in the near future. Why must I suffer at the hands of these crazy people?_

Next to her Hidan muttered something under his breath about 'stupid, pyromaniac blonds that do nothing but blow things up.'

"Man, Sasori. Stop sulking. I'll paint over it later, yeah. It's time for you to go." He looked closely at Sasori, who gave him the shortest of nods.

"Skip me."

"Okay, then Itachi. Truth or Dare, yeah."

Itachi decided to take a risk. "Dare," he said with a straight face.

Deidara's eyes shone. "You have to spend the rest of the night with Hinata. Until tomorrow morning. Which means you can't be more than six feet away from her, yeah."

Hinata fainted, her head falling into Itachi's lap.

The other Akatsuki hardly seemed to notice her faint. They were used to Hinata doing it by now.

The Uchiha's eyes widened, then narrowed as he looked at the blond. "And how do you expect me to do that?" Instead of shoving her away like he was tempted to do, he only shifted so his robe could cushion her head comfortably.

Deidara held up a long piece of rope that was conveniently next to him the entire time, as if it was waiting to be used. "All we have to do is tie this around both your waists. There will be six feet of rope between you, so it shouldn't be so troublesome, yeah."

"Hn." Itachi took the rope and looked down at her. She was actually sleeping, clutching at his robe as if it were a blanket. As if it would protect her from anything that could harm her._ Sunshine..._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata felt something soft under her head. Soft and silky...

She rubbed her cheek against it, then opened her eyes...

To see a pair of sharingan eyes staring right into her own.(Doesn't this scene seem familiar?)

The soft and silky thing was Itachi's sleeve. It was then that she realized she was half in his lap, half on the floor.(They were both sitting on the floor) No one else was in the room. In fact, the whole house was quiet, as if no one else was there except them. The television was on in front of them.

Her face grew red as she shyly drew away from him.

Itachi glanced at her with an uncaring expression. "Awake now?" He said in a flat voice.

"I-Itachi...where..." Then she saw the rope tied around her waist. The other end was tied around Itachi's. _Oh. Right. That Truth or Dare game. I really have to kill Deidara one of these days._

"The others have eaten takeout food and are out sparring. And Sasori put a seal on the rope so that we couldn't slip it off if we wanted to."

"Oh. Um...would you like me to cook you something?"

"Hn."

"O-okay. And I'll make food for tomorrow's mission."

"Hn."

"Maybe we could...play cards or something afterwards?"

"No."

"Um...okay."

She bit her lip and turned to go to the kitchen. Itachi didn't miss the split second when disappointment flashed across her face. When the rope went taut she waited patiently until he got up to follow her, taking a newspaper with him.

While he sat in a nearby chair she bustled about, taking things out of cupboards and preparing food. He knew she was tired and didn't like cooking much, but he didn't offer to help either. Once in a while he would look at her over his paper. Her body language betrayed the fact that she was experiencing extreme anxiety and agitation. The way she held a spoon, the speed at which she stirred a mixture...it all pointed to the troubles she never voiced aloud.

He said a polite 'thank you' to her when she set his dinner in front of him. With a short nod as her reply she turned her attention back to cooking. She finished making the lunches for their mission just as Itachi was done with his meal. Hinata just leaned against the counter, her eyelids drooping. Itachi sighed, noting her fatigue.

"We're going to bed now Sunshine," said Itachi. Instead of asking, he said it as if it were his final decision. Hinata was too tired to argue; she only followed him up the stairs. When they got to the second floor they turned to go into their own rooms. Of course the rope held them together.

_Dammit dammit dammit, _Hinata swore in her head.

_Crap crap crap, _Willow thought, also in Hinata's head.

_Sorry, Sunshine but you're on my turf tonight, _Itachi thought.

"We are sleeping in my room tonight." Hinata's eyes widened in fear. She would have liked to protest but he was already walking into his room. She grabbed shorts and a vest that was in the closet next to her door, then tried to resist the rope but ended up sprawled on the floor. She felt a tug on her waist and before she could say anything was dragged right into Itachi's room. The annoyed kunoichi rolled over to see Itachi standing over her, rope in his hands.

"You were taking too long. I don't know about you, but I'm having a bath."

Hinata cringed inwardly. "I need one also. And the rope isn't long enough for one of us to be outside while the other washes."

Itachi gave her a calm, even look. "Well, I would assume we need to find a way around that."

_I'm glad you think it's funny. _Hinata could swear she heard Willow laughing somewhere in her mind. Itachi turned on the faucet.

In the end they both ended up in the huge bathtub. Together. At the same time. While Hinata had her back turned, Itachi changed out of his clothes and stepped into the tub. When Hinata made sure his head was turned she changed out of her own clothes then stepped in carefully.

So now they were just sitting there. In lukewarm water. Hinata looked everywhere except at Itachi.

Ignoring-or attempting to ignore- the fact that he was watching her she closed her eyes and sank into the water up to just above her upper lip. They were both on opposite sides of the tub. She had made sure of that. It was very tempting to fall asleep in there...the warm, wet water...she smiled dreamily, forgetting Itachi was in there with her.

_Whoa, kiddo. I thought you would have enjoyed spending time like this alone. In an empty house. Naked. In a giant hot tub. _Willow let out a bark laced with humor.

_That's the sort of stuff you enjoy, I bet._

_Hey, before I was sealed I couldn't resist disguising myself as a human and having a little 'fun,' _Willow said smugly.

_You have no shame..._

_Thank you, _the demon replied.

Feeling content, she opened her eyes and nearly jumped when she saw that a certain someone was not there.

She _did _jump when she turned her head and saw that the 'certain someone' was sitting right next to her.

Itachi. Sitting next to her. Bare-chested. She really hated him, but the eldest Uchiha naked sitting next to her? He smirked at her wide-eyed expression. _Wonder what she'll do this time?_

_Willow...I'm feeling light-headed... _Everything went dark.

Amused, Itachi watched as she slowly sank underwater like a ship, bubble's floating up from her open mouth. _Better than I expected..._

Sighing, he was about to fish her out when she woke up and splashed frantically to get her head above water. When she saw Itachi next to her she blushed. "Th-that was a m-mean trick," she stammered.

Itachi gave her another bored look. "And you are the only person I know who would faint in a bathtub."

"It's your fault I fainted in the first place."

"Why? Were my good looks too much for you?"

Hinata closed her eyes and sighed, even more frustrated than before. "I'm going to bed now."

While Itachi looked away she changed into her vest and and shorts. _He didn't even give me a chance to get a proper night dress. _

She averted her eyes while Itachi dressed in a see-through mesh shirt and black shorts. _That guy...he will be the death of me...if this goes on..._

It had been a while since she had slept in the same bed as him. She remembered the morning after the last time they shared his bed.

_Oh yeah, wasn't that when you fell over and-_

_Willow, please don't remind me of that._

She swore she could hear the demon laughing evilly somewhere deep in her head. _Evil demon, _she thought privately. She couldn't wait until they were allowed to slip off the rope.

She got on the bed while Itachi was retying his hair. Hinata looked at it. She was almost tempted to stroke his hair(it looked so silky) but she didn't know if it was worth losing her arm.

_Willow...I can't sleep. I still have too much active chakra energy from the training. I'm too tired to deactivate it, and it's also making me restless. _

_Release some of it, or train some more until there's less chakra. _said the demon before falling silent.

_She must be asleep now._ _But how can I use up energy in bed?_

"Hey, Itachi..." she asked softly.

"What?" He came over and sat on the edge of the bed. She hesitated, then gently touched her fingertips to the side of his face. Hesitant, she gazed deeply into his eyes...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"You think they're asleep, yeah?" Asked Deidara. He, Kisame and Sasori had just come home.

Hidan was at a hotel. Sasori was out feeding the fish in the little pond on his front lawn. Kisame was also sporting a new blue and white scarf he had knitted. And he was very proud of it.

"Hmph. Dunno, Blondie. Think you can use your clay animals to see?" Kisame grunted then looked at the door of Itachi's room.

They heard a loud grunt from his room.

"That sounded like Itachi...yeah..." Deidara said. Then the grunt was followed by a long moan, coming from a woman's throat. "Hinata!" They whispered at the same time. _He might be hurting her right now!_

Deidara quickly molded his clay into a tiny dragonfly. _I'll be able to see better with compound eyes, _the Stone ninja thought. The dragonfly crawled under the door and hovered close to the bed without being seen. Deidara focused it's eyesight and nearly fainted at what he saw.

The room was dim, but he could make out the shape of Itachi lying on his back on the bed. Hinata had crawled over him and her hands were on either side of his face. Her head was close to his, and Itachi had his hands on her hips, as if he was holding her up. They were both breathing heavily, and the kunoichi moaned softly...

Deidara paled and his dragonfly came back. He made it explode(it was so tiny, it hardly made a sound) and leaned against the wall, stunned at what he had witnessed. Seeing it with compound eyes made it worse. Even if they were both wearing clothes...

Ignoring Kisame's questions, he turned and walked down into the kitchen. Kisame followed and they sat down quietly. Then Kisame reached under the table and pulled out several bottles of sake. Sasori came in at that moment.

"What on earth happened?" He asked Deidara.

Deidara clutched his sake, his eyes glazed. He rocked back and forth slowly in his chair.

"Hinata...Weasel-boy...kissing. ..grinding...moaning...," Words tumbled out of his mouth. When he regained composure he looked up, his blue eyes shining as if he had seen the Kami themselves.

"A miracle has happened,"he said in a clear voice. "Please...let us drink in thanks to our savior...Hinata Hyuuga." He chugged the rest of the sake and fell face-down on the table.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Sasori. At that moment they all heard a long moan coming from the second floor...

Sasori stared blankly at the ceiling then sat down between his companions. As realization dawned on him his eyes widened.

Deidara came to and had just grabbed another bottle when Sasori reached over and wrestled it out of his hands. He stared at the bottle and took a long swig. The other Akatsuki members exchanged glances and followed his example. It was not every day that one would have Sasori as a drinking buddy.

Back in the bedroom...

"Did it work?" Blushing, Hinata crawled off of him. He focused his gaze.

"Yeah."

"Good." Exhausted she fell asleep. Itachi watched her for a few seconds before falling asleep himself.

He felt almost guilty that it hurt her so much, but she had insisted.

_It was well worth it..._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Yes! Finished! This was the hardest(and longest) chapter I've ever written. The reason why I have taken so long is because my parents forbade me from using my laptop until my Regents Exams were over. I was only able to use library computers and school laptops. I honestly don't know why New York forces their poor High-schoolers to take Regents, but then, most teachers are evil that way. _And _we are practically the only state required to do Regents. Jerks...

Anyway, please accept my apology(and review)

I know you all want to kill me, but if you did who else would write my stories? Oh, and more songs and sound ninja in the next chapter. Forgive me for any mistakes, but this one was long! I won't be able to hold a pen after this...

Speaking of stories I already started a new one about Hinata and Deidara, called "An Explosive Relationship." It's in the mature section.

Your friend marked for death,

Narutochica. T.T

P.S. I borrowed the idea of Sasori's house being destroyed by Deidara from Fruits Basket. Shigure's house is always being damaged by Yuki and Kyo's fighting.


	16. I Thought You Two Were Doing It, Un

Hi everyone, sorry I'm late again. This chapter is dedicated to all of you!

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

**I Thought You Two Were Doing It, un.**

Hinata put the last of her supplies in her pack. After all that happened yesterday, her chakra was normal again. _Thank goodness...at least it didn't go to waste,_ she thought looking at Itachi.

He was busy inserting weapons on the inside pockets of his Akatsuki robe. They were still attached by the accursed rope, but they had managed to get through another bath without problems.

Unlike the vest she was wearing, he was wearing a black shirt with a mesh underneath. The shirt clung to his torso, revealing the outline of each firm muscle. Instead of the usual creme-colored pants Akatsuki wore, he was wearing black jeans. When Itachi looked up to see her staring at him she averted her gaze.

_Aha! That proves my point, pup. You were looking at him just now!_

_Oh, stop it, will you?_

_Hmph, _snorted Willow. _That's not all._ _To think that you fainted in a bathtub of all places._

_Will you ever let me forget that?_

_No._

_Meanie._

_Ha. Sucker._

Hinata snapped out of her internal conversation when she felt the rope jerk at her waist.

"Hm?" She craned her neck to look up at Itachi who had climbed off the bed, robe draped over his arm.

He almost hesitated, then went right ahead with what he was going to say.

"Are you fit for traveling? After last night you became weak..." His expression: expressionless.

"I'm fine...I really needed it..." She stood up from where she had been squatting on the floor and stretched her back and legs. She blushed when she heard several joints crack. _I hope he didn't hear that..._

"I heard that," said Itachi in his monotone.

"Er...I felt really stiff last night," she offered as an explanation. Nervously she ran a comb through her hair, sorting out any tangles.

"Hn."

"U-um...maybe we should go downstairs now...and ask Sasori to release the seal on the rope." She shifted nervously.

"Hn." She walked out the room and Itachi followed, the rope swinging between them.

Now, I hope you all remember what happened between Deidara, Sasori and Kisame the night before. I think it goes without saying that after a night of merrymaking, (getting drunk) all good men must suffer the consequences. And those consequences are magnified when one makes merry, _and _sees and hears Itachi and Hinata (in Deidara's traumatized words) 'kissing...grinding...moaning...'.

Sadly for them, they made merry for nothing.

When Hinata and Itachi made their ways into the living room, they were greeted by a most unusual sight. Deidara, Sasori and Kisame were sitting on the floor in a triangle. Their backs were hunched, and in the middle was a pile of sake bottles. Their eyes seemed to be staring into space.

Itachi pushed Hinata behind him and stepped closer. He put his hand on Kisame's shoulder and shook it roughly.

"Hey, Kisame...Hey!" Itachi spoke sharply, as if he was giving out an order.

"Hmmm." Kisame just grunted. He swung at Itachi with Samehada missing him by several feet.

Hinata bent down between Sasori and Deidara. At Itachi's nod she spoke to them.

"D-Deidara?"

"Un."

"S-Sasori?"

"Yes?" Sasori mumbled.

"Are you all right?"

"Better than some people." His dull eyes flicked toward Kisame and Deidara.

"...you're not drunk are you?"

"No. I can withstand the effects of alcohol fairly well."

"Then... why were you just sitting there?"

"I had nothing else to do." Sasori wobbled to his feet and staggered into the kitchen.

One down, two to go. Hinata faintly heard the sound of Sasori turning on the kitchen faucet.

Nervously she shook Deidara. His legs were crossed, his eyes staring down at his hands.

"Deidara! Are you not well?"

Deidara looked at her. Actually, it was almost as if he was looking _through _her. Like she was invisible.

"Hinata..." He said quietly.

"Y-yes?"

"I'm well enough, yeah." He braced himself against a chair leg and stumbled into the kitchen.

Two down, one to go. Itachi watched Deidara go then looked down at Kisame, who was still hunched over.

"Hinata, step back." He folded down his fingers except for the index and middle fingers, which he kept up. When he folded his thumb across the lowered fingers, Hinata assumed he was doing another jutsu.

It wasn't.

He brought his two fingers down across the back of Kisame's head, causing him to jump up and lose his grip on Samehada, which would have hit Hinata if the quick-thinking Uchiha hadn't knocked her over in time. Samehada only bumped into the couch and sat there. Until the couch burst into flames from the scaled katana's intense heat.

"Urgh...head hurts," he mumbled. He stood up, legs shaking and slouched into the kitchen.

Three down, burning couch to go.

Itachi was still on top of her, glaring at Kisame's retreating back when he realized she was struggling under him. _And blushing, _he noted with satisfaction.

"You have the worst reflexes, you know that?" He got off her and went to look at the couch.

"I couldn't do much since I'm still attached to you," she countered.

Itachi rolled his eyes and turned to Hinata. "You put it out," he said.

Hinata sighed and raised an arm, making water from the sink float up and put out the flames.

_Sasori's really going to be unhappy now._

_Sasori? He's the only guy here that I like. Has a brain. The blond guy acts cute as well, _Willow spoke up. _Like a puppy._ Hinata pictured her sharpening her claws on a rock.

When she went into the kitchen, they looked a bit more normal than before. Sasori was peeling potatoes, Kisame was painting his nails (heh) and Deidara was leaning against the counter top, looking troubled. His hair was a mess. She noticed she still had the comb in her hand.

Sighing, she picked up a small footstool and dragged it over to him. Standing on it, she unloosed his ponytail and combed it carefully.

"Un. Thanks Hinata." He said nervously.

"Wh-what happened to you?" She said slowly.

"Deidara. Tell me right now." It was Itachi, who followed her in and was sitting at the table.

He looked a little pissed. And it wasn't good if Itachi was pissed, that Hinata knew from personal experience.

"I am oldest, so I make the orders around here," Sasori said in a cold assertive voice. Itachi glared at him with Mangekyou eyes but Sasori glared right back without flinching. _You are _not _picking on my partner._

A few seconds later Itachi broke away from Sasori's piercing gaze and glared at Deidara again.

"Well?"

"Un. Um...well...we heard strange noises coming from your room and...we thought you were hurting Hinata..."

"Why would you think that?" Itachi gave him a questioning look.

Hinata nearly fell off the stool.

_Did Itachi seriously say that? What an ignorant ass-_

_Hey hey hey, pup! Just because I swear like that doesn't mean you do!_

"Un. Hinata, summon your beaver."

"She's an otter." Hinata did as he asked.

A few seconds later Rin appeared, several bandages wrapped around her bald tail. Her bell earrings chimed as she turned her head sharply.

"Hey! I said I wasn't returning until my fur grew back! What gives?" Then she noticed Itachi, whom she hadn't seen in weeks.

"I know that guy! He's the pompous bastard that hurt you the last time I saw him! Can I kill him?" She turned to her mistress eagerly.

Itachi twitched when he saw Hinata's summon appear. _Why use an exotic animal as a summon? That thing should be made into a fur coat. The thing bites like hell as well. _(Rin bit Itachi in an earlier chapter)

"That's enough, Rin." Hinata scratched her summon's head affectionately and stepped back on the stool to finish combing Deidara's hair. Rin didn't stand a chance. Itachi would literally cut her in half or something just as bad. That thought made her sick inside.

"See?" said Deidara. "The beaver is our witness, yeah"

"Otter!" Sasori sighed and went to the fridge. He took out some pancakes and heated them up.

"Un. Don't care."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Just get to the point." Sasori poured syrup on the pancakes and gave them to the delighted summon. "Itadakimasu," she said before digging in. Hinata smiled at her summon before going back to Deidara's hair.

"Un. Uh, since we thought you were...hurting her we decided to check on you guys, yeah."

"How?" Deidara flinched when Itachi's Mangekyou appeared.

"Don't intimidate him!" Sasori said sharply. Deidara was his partner, and he felt protective of him. Besides, he was boss when Leader wasn't around so he wanted to keep things in order. Itachi hardly listened.

"Um, I used my clay, yeah. And...I thought you two were...doing it...but you had your clothes on."

Hinata was too busy combing out knots to actually listen. Rin twitched but shook her head and went back to eating.

"Mm? Wh-what do you mean?" she asked politely. Both she and Rin were completely clueless.

Kisame got up to leave but Itachi grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him back into his chair.

(Kisame's thoughts) _I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead. Goodbye, merrymaking..._

(Sasori's thoughts) _What is that smell? Was something on fire? Oh yeah, probably my house. I don't even want to know..._

(Deidara's thoughts) _Now I won't be able to die the fleeting, explosive death I want to die. Weasel-boy's going to kill me in the slowest, most painful way possible, Un!_

(Itachi's thoughts) ...

(Hinata's thoughts) _I wonder what he meant by "doing it"?_

(Willow's thoughts) _You have virgin ears, don't you, Pup?_

(Rin's thoughts) _Is the blond fool saying what I think he's saying? Nah..._

Deidara took a deep breath before continuing.

"I thought you and Itachi were going all the way, yeah. I mean, with the moaning and...Hinata?"

His words set off a chain reaction.

Kisame was sweating profusely.

Sasori was suddenly busy washing already washed dishes.

Deidara was, well...watching all this.

Itachi sighed and covered his eyes with one hand. If one looked more closely one would realize his cheeks were a shade pinker than before.

Rin choked on her pancakes. "What the-"

Hinata fell off the stool, banged her head on the counter and slid to the floor, knocked out.

Hinata's state of mind: Chaos

Ten minutes later, when Hinata came to...

"Un. Hinata, I'm sorry, yeah. I was only checking to see if you were all right." Deidara kept apologizing over and over again. He looked guilty, as if it were his fault she fainted. He was also pressing an ice pack to the back of her head.

Seeing Deidara look sad made her feel like crying. She smiled forgivingly.

"It's all right. I-I can see why you would a-assume we were doing...that. I-I was only working on Itachi's eyes."

Sasori, who had started putting breakfast on the table looked up at the mention of Itachi's eyesight.

"Eyes? Is this about Itachi's Mangekyou?" she nodded, avoiding Itachi's eyes. Every time she looked at him she would picture them having sex. What a crappy day.

"You mean you could heal his eyes?" Kisame asked. "Heh. No wonder. On our last mission he didn't have to take medication."

"The m-more time I have to heal them, t-the longer his vision will s-stay sharp. The only problem is that it's very painful and it is never permanent, but long-lasting if done properly."

"Un. So the moans we heard was from _pain,_ yeah?" Deidara gave her a worried glance. "Does it hurt for too long?"

She shook her head. "It stops when I stop healing." Deidara visibly relaxed. _At least they are both fine now. _

"So. Did you find out what his problem was? The Mangekyou must do something to destroy his vision, but what?" Sasori asked curiously.

Hinata glanced at Itachi. She hadn't told him yet, and she didn't know whether or not he wanted her to say it in front of everybody.

"Go on," he said. Hinata detected a faint hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Um...did your medication help your eyes at all?"

"It reduced pain but my sight hardly improved. I need to keep my sharingan activated in order to maintain proper sight. And even then it drains chakra." _She's the enemy...and I have to tell her everything about my weakness...she's making me dependent on her...I hate that..._

He couldn't help thinking that she was too sympathetic a person to use his weakness against him.

Deidara's words came into his mind._ Even if she wants to escape, she knows she has no chance at the moment. She'll be biding her time, yeah_.

Then again, it was never good to underestimate an enemy either.

Hinata nodded. "That's because nothing is wrong with your eyes. Your eyes are perfect. It is the optic nerves that are damaged." Itachi raised an eyebrow. _How does she know this kind of stuff?_

Deidara's visible eye widened. "What, yeah?"

"Um...yes. I think the stress of having the Mangekyou causes the optic nerves to become thinner than normal, preventing the proper amount of chakra from flowing to his eyes. That results in his chakra clotting in the optic nerves, which reduces the chakra flow even more and causes pain. This weakens his ability to use both sharingan stages." she stopped speaking, feeling awkward. She hoped Itachi wouldn't get mad at her. She made sure not to look at him directly.

"You're saying," said Sasori. "That his sharingan is in fact weak in proportion to his skill level, but whenever you work on his nerves Itachi's sharingan rises to it's full level of power?"

"Y-yes. It makes him...more powerful..." Kisame banged his head on the table. _Wow. The Uchiha whelp gets more power...I need a drink..._

"Anything else?" Itachi said in a surprisingly soft voice. Hinata felt her heart skip a beat. He was looking at her with more...respect. She felt her cheeks flush.

She recovered quickly and answered him. "S-since the Mangekyou causes the nerves to become thinner, the nerve fibers become even more compressed than before. The cramped space makes it more difficult for signals to pass from the retina to the brain. That causes the blurry and dim vision you have."

"You used your chakra to thicken the nerves, to give the fibers more room and increase chakra flow?" Everyone glanced at Kisame, surprised he had caught on before the rest of them.

"Y-yes..."

"Then what about the position you two were in? Apparently it had poor Deidara traumatized. And he's the only one of us that can blow a guy up and enjoy seeing the gore."

"What position?" Asked Rin. She lay her head on Sasori's lap and purred when he began to pet her.

"I-It's nothing Rin." Rin snorted but kept purring. Currently having the mind set of a fifteen year old, she was able to figure things out on her own.

"W-well...that position enabled me to work on his nerves without chakra getting in the way. Chakra flows into the eyes, so if he were upright it would have made things hard for my own chakra to help him." Deidara nodded in understanding.

"So." He said clapping his hands together. "Now that we have that sorted out, why don't you and Weasel-boy get ready for your mission, yeah?"

Sasori glanced at him. "You are going as well."

Deidara turned to him with an almost frightened expression. "Un. You can't do that, danna. Weasel-boy will kill me!" He whined. "And who knows what Hinata will do, yeah..."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "They won't do anything to you. At least not Hinata. However, you either go with them and help Hinata with this mission or I'll give you a mission with Tobi..."

"Un. Okay, okay. I'll go. But don't blame me if I come back in a coffin, yeah."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. So far as I'm concerned, you'll be coming back in a shoe box when I'm done with you." He poked the blond in the forehead to make it clear he was only joking.

Deidara scowled, rubbing his head. "You haven't done that to me in years, yeah." Hinata smiled. It was almost like an affectionate gesture toward the blond.

"Hn."

Sasori smiled. "Hinata, I think you would be glad to have Deidara with you. He is quite skilled in music-"

"Un. Let's not talk about that now."

"I-I'm happy you're coming with us. Really," Deidara reached over and ruffled her hair playfully.

"Do we have enough food, yeah?"

"Yeah. I made too much last night." Hinata watched her summon purr contentedly in Sasori's lap.

_Is it my imagination, or is Rin actually taking to someone other than me?_

_Dunno, pup, but I think Sasori likes her. In the way an owner likes his dog, of course._

_So...since I'm a human and you're a dog..._

_Hell no! So far as I'm concerned you are my subordinate. Cheeky pup, that's what you are._

Sasori released the seal on the rope, giving Hinata a chance to check the radio for the weather.

_Hmm...in the 90_'s, _Willow. Crap._

_Hey!_

_I mean, dammit._

_That's better._

Hinata rifled through her closet and held up a silky black vest. At least she _thought _it was a vest. It had thin straps, but unlike a normal vest the hemline ended a few inches above her bellybutton. She tried it on in front of the mirror.

_Hmm, _said the demon. _A bit revealing, but the guys will be looking at you, no?_

_You're right. I need something over this..._

She soon found a sleeved mesh shirt designed for women. After a bit of thought she put it on over the vest. It was still possible to see through the mesh, but it looked nicer. It was form fitting though.

_How about now?_

_Yes, little pup. That should be cozy enough for this weather. Now, what about pants?_

_I'm getting to that..._

She pulled out another pair of black shorts (who the hell bought these clothes!?) And tugged them on. For once someone had bought something that came within an inch of her knee.

_Whoa girl, you show those legs! _Willow barked with humor.

_This makes me wonder what you did in human form..._

_Ever heard of a strip club?_

_And you're a mother!? What a shameless..._

_Oh, I didn't have anything better to do!_

Hinatashoved the black collar in her bag. Now that she knew about Willow, she didn't want her power to be restrained in any way. Still, it was a good precaution to take it anyway. Hefting the bag on her shoulders she went back downstairs.

Everyone was still in the kitchen, finishing off breakfast. Rin, for some strange reason hadn't disappeared to wherever summons like to go. She was busy grooming her fur. When Hinata came back she wound herself happily around her legs. Hinata gave her a loving hug.

Feeling a sudden rush of awkwardness she turned around to see Itachi (once again) staring at her. Ducking her head, she distracted herself by pretending to look for something in her bag. After this morning's disaster, she still couldn't look him in the eye.

Deidara looked from the kunoichi to the Uchiha, then back again. _Why are Weasel-boy's eyes_ _glued to her as soon as she walks in the room? Is it her clothes? I don't get it. _Then he saw Itachi slowly turn his head away from her as soon as she looked at him. The blond smirked. _Ah, so now they're both avoiding eye contact...interesting..._

Itachi looked at her again while she was occupied with giving her summon an affectionate belly scratch. _Yeah...it's definitely the clothes..._

He frowned slightly when he saw Hinata blush. _These two really need a serious talk together...if Itachi was more of a gentleman, she would come out of her shell more...this girl has been hurt _

_before...I see it in her eyes..._

"Sasori...can you sense something about Hinata?" Sasori looked up from his crossword puzzle.

"If you mean the fact that she's been molested, then yes, I sense it also." Deidara looked at his partner with wide eyes. "You can sense it that clearly, yeah?" _Sasori's perceptive abilities rival my own. I wonder if he's psychic?_ _He scares me when he does that...but she's been molested? I wonder if it is a good idea to have Weasel-boy close to her... as if he would he rape her...Itachi has too much pride to do such a horrid thing._ _Still..._

"I'm not exactly blind to the people around me. Like, for instance, I know that there's a group of women that stalk you every day hoping you're single. In fact, there are some climbing over the fence in the backyard as we speak."

Deidara muttered a curse and walked out the back door.

Hinata meanwhile finished her breakfast and washed the dishes. She turned around when she felt a touch on her shoulder. It was Itachi.

"We're leaving now. Do you have everything prepared?" He wasn't wearing his sharingan. She had nearly broke down when he threatened to show her how he killed Shisui. Ever since then, he stopped wearing his sharingan around her. She was glad. She couldn't help but shiver whenever she saw his red eyes.

"Um...y-yes...I'm ready...where's Deidara?"

As soon as she said that they all heard the sound of an explosion, followed by what sounded like the screams of several women. Deidara stepped back into the room, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Don't ask, yeah." he said when he saw the confused looks on everyone's face. "And no, I didn't hurt any of them either."

Itachi sighed and picked up his pack, motioning for Deidara to do the same. "Sasori, were leaving now..."

Sasori patted Rin one more time and bade them good luck. Rin kept looking back at him as they walked through the living room and out the door.

"Itachi?" Hinata asked. "Sasori doesn't know about his couch, does he?"

"Hn. He never left the kitchen the entire morning."

Deidara walked right up to the cherry blossom tree and peered into the branches. Hinata recognized it as the same tree in which that bird chick lived with it's parents.

_That tiny thing? Yeah. You named it Little Lavender._ _One of your duties as being my host is to treat all creatures with respect. You already fulfilled that duty by saving that bird._

_Why?_

_I am the demon of nature. I destroy nature, and I rebuild it to benefit all. You must also do the same. I'll tell you more about it later._

"Un. Morada? I'm taking you on a mission, yeah."

Hinata watched, amazed, as a lavender bird fluttered out of the branches on to his arm. Another one with red feathers settled on a nearby branch and fixed him with a steely glare.

"They belong to you?"

"Only Morada. That red monster over there belongs to Sasori, un. I can't see how lady Morada can stand being around that brute, yeah." The 'brute' flew over and pecked Deidara viciously on the nose. "Ow, yeah!"

Hinata laughed. "You know they have a chick, right?"

"Really? I should be calling you Mama Morada then." The said bird pecked him."Morada, call it over, un." Morada let out a long, melodic cry. A minute later Little Lavender herself fluttered out the tree into Deidara's palm.

"Un. Hello, princess. Never seen you around before." He handed it to Hinata.

"These birds gave me inspiration to use clay bombs in the guise of them. They were also perfect models for my sculptures, yeah."

Hinata giggled when Little Lavender began to hop around in her hand. "What are they used for?"

"Sasori trained them to relay messages during missions. You may keep that one if you want."

Hinata gasped. "I can? Thank you so much!"

"Yeah. Take it on the mission if you want. The more time you spend with it, the more it'll love you. Like with your beaver."

"Otter!" Rin padded up and gazed admiringly at the chick. "Cute."

Deidara dug out his wallet and looked inside it to see if he had any money in it.

"Are you coming?" Itachi was standing in front of them, looking impatient.

"Yeah," Deidara replied. He turned to the red bird. "Well brute, the nest is all yours for the next few days." The 'brute' flew after him, pecking harder than before. It seemed to be aiming for his wallet.

"I was joking, yeah!" Deidara ran off, the angry bird striking mercilessly.

Itachi and Hinata sighed and turned to follow the fleeing Akatsuki when Kisame suddenly ran out and walked next to them at a fast pace.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What's the hurry?"

Kisame looked behind him, panic etched on his face. "Sasori doesn't know about the couch yet. I need to put distance between us before...aw shit!" He began running, sending up clouds of dust.

"WHAT THE FUCK!!??" The angry yell came from Sasori's house.

Hinata's eyes widened. "That wasn't just..."

Itachi nodded. "It was."

Something resembling a wooden marionette flew out of the doorway and soared past them It grabbed the still-fleeing Kisame's ankle, tripped him over and began to drag him back to the house.

"Noooooo, I want to live long enough to see another hangover!" Kisame was shouting. The marionette wrapped it's arm over his mouth and dragged him along the ground rather mercilessly.Chakra strings were controlling it.

Hinata stared with an open mouth as Kisame was pulled past them, trying his best to struggle free. Itachi just sighed and watched with concealed amusement. Kisame let out one last wail before the darkness of the doorway swallowed him up.

She turned to Itachi. "Was that a puppet?" Itachi nodded, eyes still on the doorway. A few seconds later the same marionette appeared again, this time going for Deidara.

"I'm innocent, yeah." He shouted almost pathetically. "Blame Jaws, man, blame Jaws!"

The marionette paid no attention to his pleas. It grabbed him by one leg and dragged him along the ground just as roughly as before.

"Hinata! Don't let Sasori get to me, yeah." Hinata, snapping out of her shock handed Little Lavender to Itachi, then ran forward and grabbed his wrists as he slid past. Suddenly she found herself being dragged along as well. Rin growled in annoyance and managed to grip his sleeve with her paws.

As all three of them slid toward the door Deidara spoke up again.

"It's no use, yeah. Let go of me. Save yourselves from Pinnochio's wrath, un!"

"Okay," said Rin in an indifferent voice. She sat on her haunches and waved at them as they slid away.

"Hinata...please...when you recover my body...cremate it please...or blow it up...yeah..." The puppet gave a strong tug and Hinata was left to stare after him as he disappeared through the door, an object in her hands. It was his wallet.

Itachi came and stood next to her, Little Lavender sitting(rather smugly) on his shoulder. After a few moments he spoke.

"At least you have his wallet."

Hinata looked down at the leather wallet and shrugged. "You're right. I got a new wallet out of it."

(I was half asleep while writing this scene. Please forgive me for it's ridiculousness.)

Twenty minutes later...

"Deidara! Kisame! What happened?" Kisame didn't answer right away. After several seconds he replied.

"Sasori...make-up...need sake..." He lumbered off in the direction of the bar dragging Samehada

behind him.

Hinata walked in between the other two Akatsuki. Deidara had an almost traumatized look on his face. She handed him his wallet.

"D-Deidara? What did Sasori do?"

Deidara opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. It took some effort but he finally answered.

"He...he forced us to...put on dresses...wear make-up...and...he took pictures, yeah!"

"Are you serious?" She couldn't believe Sasori would do something like that. But then, he did have a talent for plotting revenge, if what Deidara said was true. Little Lavender peeped on her shoulder. Remembering she was still a chick, Hinata checked to make sure she wouldn't slip.

"Yeah. And he's probably going to send the pictures to Leader. No doubt he would enjoy them."

Leader tripped on his robes. _Gotta get these stairs fixed..._

Little Lavender flew off her shoulder, chirping happily. Hinata laughed and ran after her, the bird staying just out of her reach. Rin let out a huge yawn.

"Tell Hinata I've gone home to rest. Sayonara." She poofed into a cloud of smoke.

Now that they were both alone Deidara glanced at Itachi, who had remained quiet. He thought carefully before speaking.

"Itachi...what do you think of Hinata, un?"

"In what sense do you ask that question?"

"I mean...she's supposed to be a hostage, but she acts as if being with us is part of her everyday life, yeah."

"You noticed as well?" Itachi stared straight ahead at the kunoichi as she stood on tiptoe, fingers delicately outstretched toward the bird.

"Yeah. She seems to be the type who never fights back...never resists..."

"Hn. Remember what you said to me yesterday?"

"What did I say, yeah?" _What a baka..._

"You said she was likely biding her time."

"Yeah. But other ninja would have made several escape attempts already."

"And hers sucked. I knew she was trying to escape as soon as she put her hands on the window."

"Actually...I want to know if you're interested in her, yeah."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I'm not. Why would you ask me a question like that?"

Deidara hesitated before going on. "The two of you...are very similar...you can relate to each other. You were both heirs to important clans, you both had pressure put on you at young ages, and, probably the most important of all, both you and her are-"

"Don't go there."

"Okay, okay, it's just...she _is _starting to get attached to Hidan...and you know how he is with women...you, on the other hand are just the opposite, yeah."

"So?"

"You have messed-up hormones, un. I mean, you only express interest in women just once or twice a year, yeah. That's not healthy."

"Hn."

"And if you don't say something to her, you'll lose her forever, yeah"

"Hn." _Where does he come up with this stuff? Baka..._

"Anyway, back to Hinata...doesn't she strike you as different?"

"She's too friendly."

Deidara smirked. "Yeah...what really makes me wonder about her...she's a lot more sedate than the other jinchuuriki."

"That's because she's probably not aware that she is one. She doesn't have any strange facial markings..." Little Lavender landed on her finger. Hinata smiled and brought it closer to her face, chuckling lightly when it gave her a gentle peck on the nose.

Deidara stiffened as soon as he saw this. He fumbled around in his bag and pulled out a camera.

"Perfect shot, yeah," The blond said bringing the camera up to his face. He clicked on the button just

as the bird nuzzled her cheek. Morada fluttered to Itachi's shoulder so Deidara could move more freely.

He put the camera away.

"The thing is, Hinata is gentle and sympathetic. Do you think she can turn her heart to ice and kill without feeling emotion? Can she bear to live with the guilt of killing a defenseless child? No matter what, the guilt will stay forever. I have some guilt, yeah."

Itachi barely looked at him. "A prankster like you feels guilt?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "I don't pull tricks anymore, for your information, yeah. You probably feel guilty for something. Way, way down in that deep, dark abyss you call a heart, yeah."

"Who said I have a heart?" Itachi smirked. Morada fluttered back to Deidara.

"Touche, un."

Hinata stroked Little Lavender's small head with the tip of one finger. The little bird had grown so much in a week.

"Let's wait for the others to come, okay?" She cooed to the bird.

"You are adorable, huh?"

Feeling a shiver run up her spine she turned around to see a few guys staring at her.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked in an even voice.

One of them came really close to her. A teenager with dyed red hair.

"Er, yeah. Do you want to go out for some drinks?" He looked shifty, as he kept darting his amber eyes from side to side.

_Serenity...serenity...serenity..._ Hinata chanted in her head. _Stay polite..._

"I'm sorry. Thanks but no thanks." She turned around to go back to Itachi when the teen grabbed her arm and yanked her back, nearly unseating Little Lavender.

"I'm sure you could find some time...for us..." He grinned, exposing perfect white teeth.

_Serenity...serenity...serenity now...bloodlust later..._

"Ah, as much as I would like to hang out with you-not- I really do have a lot of things to do. Sorry."

She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let go. Instead, he tightened his grip so that it hurt.

"I never said you could go, miss..."

Hinata sighed inwardly. _To hell with serenity...bloodlust comes now..._

Itachi and Deidara had just rounded a corner when they saw a group of men eyeing the kunoichi.

One of them walked right up to her.

Deidara turned to Itachi, a neutral look on his face. "What do we do, yeah? Do we save the guy, or do we let Hinata have her fun?"

"Hn. Don't care."

Deidara watched as he yanked on her arm. "Un. As long as she doesn't kill him, she should do whatever she likes, yeah." He dug a bag of popcorn out of his pack and leaned against the wall,

watching the scene unfold before him.

"Want some?" He offered to Itachi.

"No. Wait, where did you get that?"

"I pulled it out of my ass, yeah."

"..."

"Er...sorry, yeah?"

"Hn."

Deidara dug his hand into the popcorn and held up a popped kernel. Morada, still perched on his shoulder snatched the piece from his fingers and, cracking it with her beak swallowed it.

Deidara grinned and popped more into his mouths.(Yes, I used plural intentionally)

The fun was about to start and he didn't want to miss it.

Five minutes later...

"Hinata...that was overkill, yeah.." said Deidara as they neared the gates of the village.

"Hmph. I only gave him a weak punch." She pouted. "Rin went home?"

"Yeah, and don't change the subject. It was a weak hit to you, but a jaw-breaker for him, un."

"I only broke his front teeth. And it wasn't my fault he's not ninja trained."

Deidara smirked and shook his head. "Let's catch up to Weasel-boy. He's getting too far ahead of us."

Itachi was waiting for them at the gates. As soon as they got there he approached Hinata.

"Here," he said, handing her a black bandanna. There were red clouds patterned on it. "If you have a mission with us, you must wear our colors.

"But-"

"But what? Just put it on."

She narrowed her eyes at him but tied it firmly around her neck.

Itachi flashed his sharingan as a warning for her to stay in her place before he led the way into the forest.

Deidara rolled his eyes and raised his arm, letting Morada fly into the sky and out of sight.

"Don't mind him. Weasel-boy's just not in a good mood, yeah." He jumped onto a tree branch and motioned for her to follow.

Hinata felt strangely relieved to be in the forest again. She loved the forest; green plants, the smell pine trees...yes, it felt like home.

She closed her eyes for a second, thinking about Konoha. Feeling a familiar pang of sadness ripple through her she shook her head and forced herself to think about something else. Sensing an obstacle right in front of her she stretched her arms out and grabbed the tree branch before she collided with it. As soon as her hands made contact she opened her eyes and dropped to a lower branch, then jumped to a higher one before she lost the two Akatsuki.

Feeling completely confidant, she climbed to the thin higher branches and followed Deidara, who was just in front of and under her. Itachi was slightly in front of him.

"Enjoying yourself, yeah?" Asked Deidara from below. He had noticed her shadow on him.

"Yeah!" She called down.

Little Lavender flew beside her, chirping happily. Her mother Morada stayed beside Deidara.

Hinata turned her head sharply when a swift movement caught her eye. She stopped for a second, trying to seek out the distraction.

Feeling a thin branch break under her weight she grabbed wildly at the trunk to keep herself from falling. She heard a sharp exclamation from Deidara as she slid helplessly down the trunk, unable to catch a hold on anything. Suddenly, before she knew it she had stopped sliding. Itachi, about five yards away came closer. Deidara was watching her with wide eyes. For some reason her fingers stuck to the trunk.

Hinata, seeing that there was a thicker branch ten feet below her managed to pull her fingers out of the trunk and landed on it.

"What happened, yeah?" Deidara stood in front of her, looking puzzled.

Hinata glanced at her hands and quickly hid them out of sight, behind her back. "Um...I just slipped, that's all," she lied.

Deidara gave her a look of disbelief but didn't press the issue further. He sighed. "Come on." He went ahead with Itachi.

Seeing that they were gone, she opened her hands and looked at each fingertip. Nothing looked wrong with them, except that each fingertip had a split down the middle.

_What is this? Claws?_

All her current thoughts flew out of her mind as she heard a faint rustle and glanced around to seek out whatever had made the sound. Seeing the leaves on and a bush shaking when there wasn't wind, she went closer.

_I thought I saw something...there it is again! It's probably the same thing that distracted me..._

Through the leafy branches of a small tree she caught sight of red fur moving silently through the forest. When she crept even closer and and peered at it, she nearly fell over in shock. It looked like some kind of lion or tiger with wings, and a serpent like tail with spines on it. Suddenly, the creature stopped and glared right at her. Though it had a tiger's body, it had a human head with catlike eyes and ears. Though it was odd, it seemed elegant and graceful. Before she could catch it (she wanted a closer look) it whirled around and disappeared into thin air.

Hearing the dull sound of sandals against wood, she looked up to see Itachi and Deidara standing on a branch just above her head.

"What is taking you so long?" Itachi asked, eyes narrowed.

"We were going for a full five minutes before we realized you were gone, yeah." Deidara frowned, a cool and calculating expression on his face. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"N-no." She didn't look either of them in the eye.

"You're not telling us everything." Deidara said right away. _How does he do that?_

Hinata sighed. In the end she was forced to tell them everything about her encounter with the man tiger.

"Man tiger?" Asked Deidara questioningly. "Mantiger...mantigor...manticore? Is that what you saw, yeah?"

She nodded. "Do you know anything about them?"_ Mythology was never my best subject..._

Deidara snorted. "Manticores don't exist, yeah. At least they shouldn't. Are you sure this isn't just your imagination?"

"I'm positive! It even had a Sound headband around it's neck!" She gave him a pleading look.

"Alright, then." Deidara shrugged and turned to Itachi.

"You think it's one of Orochimaru's experiments?"

"Hn." Itachi nodded, then turned away and started running again.

They all kept quiet for the next few hours. They paused for a little while to eat the food Hinata had packed. The subject of the manticore and Orochimaru was never brought up again.

As she bit into a piece of fish, she suddenly remembered something Sasori said earlier.

"Um...Deidara?"

"Yeah?" said the ex Stone-nin through a mouthful of rice.

"Sasori said something about you being talented in music. What did he mean by that?"

"Oh. That, yeah." He scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "It's not as impressive as he says. I can only play piano and keyboard, un."

Hinata's eyes widened. "You never told me that." Little Lavender and Morada kept pecking at her food, but she didn't mind.

The blond shrugged. "I never thought it important. Besides, I haven't played in a while, yeah."

"Why not?"

"Playing the keyboard gives me nightmares about my old piano teacher, yeah. He was skilled, but cruel."

Hinata swallowed. "In what way was he cruel?"

Deidara smirked. "You know how all grand pianos have a big wooden lid to cover the little strings and hammers inside them, yeah?"

Hinata nodded.

"Yeah, well, whenever I tuned it wrong or played an incorrect note on the piano, he would slam the heavy lid down on my hands."

Deidara laughed when he saw the kunoichi's shocked face.

"It's nothing to worry about, un. By the way, I wanted to ask...how did you learn so much about eyes? I mean, you are the only person I know who actually found out what Itachi's real problem was, yeah."

Hinata groaned. "Yes...the Hyuuga's force the heiress to learn how to heal eyes and restore eyesight. It wasn't fun. I would never have succeeded in learning if it weren't for my big brother."

"You have a brother, yeah?"

She darted a quick glance at Itachi. She had a vague feeling he knew who she was talking about.

She turned back to Deidara. "He wasn't related to me, but he's like a brother. He had a teaching method similar to your teacher's, but I requested for him to teach me his way."

"How did he do it, yeah?"

_Flashback_

_Shisui stuck several pieces of duct tape on her arms._

"_Your father asked me if I could tutor you. However, Hinata-sama, I think both you and him are overdoing it with the studying methods this time."_

"_My cousin Neji says that I'm screwed if I don't learn fast. And father says no pain no gain."_

_Shisui waved a dismissive hand. "Bah. Don't listen to what your emo cousin says." He got out a pointer. "And please refrain from using the word 'screwed.' The language you kids use these days!" Hinata didn't bother to point out that he himself was a kid._

"_This was how my father forced me to activate my sharingan when I was younger. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"_

_Hinata nodded. "It's the only way I'll remember, nii-san."_

_Shisui sighed. "That's what they all say, Hinata-sama." He pulled out a chart and taped it to the wall. It was a model of an eye. There were blank spaces next to certain parts of it._

"_Right," he began, putting on a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and straightening a red tie that hung over his usual ANBU outfit. His long, black hair was tied in a braid that ended just below his waist. Shisui's hair always fascinated her. He almost always kept it in a ponytail or braid. _

_Hinata giggled. "You look like a teacher, nii-san!" _

"_I do?" He said, scratching his chin. "I suppose it does give me a more...professional appearance, doesn't it?" He struck a pose, crossing his arms over his chest with a serious look on his face._

"_Now you look silly!" Having a big brother who acted like a kid just for her was one the best things she could have hoped for._

"_Hmph. Some people can't appreciate proper attire," He said, tapping the chart with the pointer. "Now, I want you to name this part of the eye." __He tapped a spot on the chart. "And tell me it's function."_

_Hinata wrinkled her nose in concentration. "Is it the cornea?" She asked hesitantly._

"_Wrong!" He ripped a piece of tape off her arm._

"_Oww!" she screeched._

_Shisui sighed again. "Are still sure you want to continue?"_

_Biting her lip, she nodded. _

"_Brave girl. Now what is this?"_

"_The iris?"_

"_Correct!" He gave her a cookie. "And what does it do?"_

"_It makes up the eye color and is located behind the cornea?"_

"_What else?"_

"_It is a membrane and the pupil goes in the middle of it?"_

_Shisui nodded. "Perfect. Have another cookie."_

_When she went back home her father was impressed that she had learned so much in such little time. He advised her to spend more time with Shisui; he was a good teacher for her._

Deidara chuckled. "I wish my teacher used that method. It sounds a lot less painful, un. What happened to your brother?"

Hinata froze. _I can't tell him with Itachi here... _Yetthere was another part of her that wanted to jump up and point at Itachi, and yell, scream at him for daring to destroy someone that belonged to her.

"Um...he was killed on a mission." she lied. Itachi turned his head slowly to lock gazes with her. Swallowing her fear, she gave him an icy, challenging glare. Itachi narrowed his eyes and activated Mangekyou, as if answering her challenge. Remembering the way Sasori stood up to him that morning, she ignored the Mangekyou and didn't avoid his gaze, instead narrowing her eyes back in aggression.

_I've been doing that the whole time...biding my time...running away... but I have to do something...now!_ Her muscles tensed. Before she could jump on him Deidara interrupted.

That's very sad," he said. _The girl's a bad liar. It sounds as if Weasel-boy had something to do with this...ah, well. I'll find out eventually._

"So..." Hinata said, recovering and satisfying herself with giving the Uchiha a dirty look. "What about your piano teacher?"

Deidara shrugged. "The guy got on my nerves. I blew him up, yeah."

"W-was that necessary?" _I keep forgetting he's an Akatsuki. Of course he can kill without guilt..._

"Un. I think of it as a service to my country, yeah."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

After staying a few hours at their rest stop they traveled for the rest of the night and most of the day afterward. They took a little break every five or so hours before continuing to their destination.

It was nightfall on the second day of traveling before Itachi decided that they stop for a full night before going on.

Hinata felt relieved. She didn't feel like traveling at night. It wasn't necessary to post a watch, since Itachi was a light sleeper.

She yawned and sprawled on a grassy patch of ground. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had a full night of sleep in a long time.

Deidara climbed up a tree and fell promptly asleep on a high branch. Hinata smiled. He seemed to be the kind of person who liked to be close to the sky. Morada was sleeping on a branch above him. Little Lavender slept soundly in the crook of her arm.

She didn't know where Itachi was. As soon as he announced they would camp there for the night, he somehow disappeared. _I wonder what he's doing?_

_Who knows, Pup. Now come to me. I want to talk to you in person._

Hinata sighed and, closing her eyes in concentration thought of the forest where her demon resided.

When she opened her eyes she found herself there again.

_Huh. That was easy. _Then she felt something on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw it was Little Lavender.

_How can she be here with me? I need to ask Willow about this later..._

The demon was waiting outside her tree, all five tails twitching in impatience. She was in human form at the moment, wearing a black leather jacket over a white vest and a short black skirt. Her dog ears were sticking out the top of her head, and her tails were exposed because of what seemed like a hole at the back of the skirt. Her hair was short and white, and she wore onyx boots.

Seeing her dressed in those clothes was enough to strike fear in anyone's heart.

As soon as her host appeared she nodded.

"Come here. In front of me."

Hinata did as she requested. "Why do you want me here?"

Willow got up and started pacing in circles like a caged tiger.

"I should be the one asking questions here. What was that last night?"

Hinata gulped. "What do you mean?"

"With the Uchiha boy. When you were healing him. I sensed you were going through pain...but I detected a certain amount of pleasure as well. What was up with that?"

Hinata looked down. "It's nothing."

"Nothing? Feh...you could barely look him in the eye today."

"I was embarrassed..."

"Then why do you blush whenever you look at him?"

"...I blush all the time...everyone knows that..."

Willow visibly relaxed and sat down again.

"Hinata...you know you can tell me anything...no matter what, we are technically one and the same. It's not like I would get mad at you..."

"I...I don't know. It...was just a strange feeling...I mean, I felt the pain in my head...and then...something else." She tried to look anywhere but at the demon's eyes. She sat down and ran her fingers over the soft grass as a means of escape.

"And?" The demon prompted gently. "You can tell me everything, dear. I can't help you if you don't open up."

_She's right..._

Little Lavender peeped encouragingly on her shoulder.

"And..." she continued shakily. "When the pain got really bad...he put his hands on my hips to keep me from falling off the bed..." Willow nodded, her expression unreadable.

"Then...as soon as I felt his hands there...I suddenly got...this weird feeling...like...it started here," She pointed to her lower stomach. "And it spread upward...in...my chest." She moved her hand up.

"It made me feel...warm..." She closed her eyes, feeling ashamed.

"How did it feel?" Willow asked softly.

"W-well...sometimes it was...sort of...tingly...and at the same time...it...felt...nice..." She opened her eyes. Still unable to look at the demon she just stared at her boots. "It just kept...building up inside me until it...made me scream..."

"It was a moan," Willow said in a monotone voice. _Heh...not like I couldn't hear...and I was trying to sleep...didn't get any either...should've just gotten drunk like the other guys..._

Hinata sighed. "Fine then...moan...and then...it gradually died down..."

"Anything else?" The demon asked in the same tone as before.

Hinata drew in a sharp breath and let it out slowly. She decided to play for time by plucking Little Lavender off her shoulder and stroking the soft, downy feathers. Willow waited patiently.

"Um..." She dropped her gaze to the ground, burning with shame. "Wh-when I woke up...I felt...strange..." She stopped for a second when she heard the soft 'thump' of Willow's boots as she stepped right in front her. She didn't look up. "We were...still attached by the rope...so while Itachi had his back turned so I could take my clothes off to go in the bath...I looked at my underwear and it felt..." Hinata hesitated before she went on. "It felt..."

"Yes?" Willow said gently.

"It felt...wet." Tears leaked out the corners of her eyes as she cried silently. "I don't understand what is going...on with me..." She faintly heard the 'scrunch' of Willow's boots as she knelt in front of her. She stiffened, then relaxed as she felt Willow's reassuring hand on her head. She looked up into Willow's human face. Instead of seeing annoyance like she expected, she was surprised to see a look of understanding in the demon's black eyes.

"Pup...I think that what you experienced is something called an orgasm..."she said bluntly.

Hinata flinched. Of course she knew what an orgasm was( sex-ed in academy days) but she didn't see how she could have one. Especially when she didn't have sex in the first place. However, the wet underwear _was _proof.

"But...how...?" she whispered, feeling embarrassed.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Willow said firmly. "I'm not a human, but I know enough about humans to tell you that it is perfectly natural. I guess that when Wea- I mean Itachi put his hands on your hips, the nerves there sent a signal to your brain that you were engaging in sexual activity."

Hinata wiped the tears out of her eyes. She felt relieved that Willow wasn't taking it badly.

"The brain must have used hormones or whatever to trigger certain reactions in your body...like that tingling feeling you felt...that's all. Has this ever happened to you before?"

"N-no. What does this mean?"

"It either means that your hormones haven't affected you until now, or..." Willow's lips curled up in a sly smile. "You feel attracted to Uchiha."

Hinata's eyes widened in horror. "NO! I do _not _like him. He's arrogant, evil, he takes pleasure in tormenting me...Willow!" The demon was smiling evilly now.

Hinata sighed. There was only one thing that might work...

"Gobi no Houkou! Cut it out!" The demon's eyes widened in shock. The shocked look faded away to be replaced by an evil sneer. "So now we're down to using formal names, eh? Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan?"

Hinata sneered back(imagine Hinata sneering) "If I know my old man, he probably made Hanabi his heir...and frankly, I don't care."

Willow smirked, exposing sharp canines. "You're right. 'Cause if she's heiress, you're free to elope with Uchiha, right?"

"No!" Upset that someone could assume that she liked Itachi, she hid her head in her hands. She looked up when Willow let loose a small laugh.

"You know, you take things too seriously," she laughed, knocking her gently on the forehead. Then her gaze turned serious. "However...I think you need a...companion."

"What do you mean? I have many...Team 8, you, Rin-chan, Little Lavender, the Konoha 12..."

Willow gave her a thoughtful look. "You have all these friends, and yet...do you ever feel alone? Do you feel lonely, even when you're surrounded by people who care for you?"

"Yes...it hurts..." Little Lavender peeped when she felt fresh tears dripping on to her feathers.

Willow cupped the kunoichi's chin in her hand and gently drew her head up until they locked gazes. Sad purple eyes met with sympathetic black ones as the demon smiled sadly.

"There are two types of love, Hinata. The kind of love that you need can never be given by me...nor your family, and I doubt your Konoha friends can ever give you that love...the love that you need can only be given by one other person...just as that one person can receive only your love...remember that..."

Hinata smiled. "Yeah..."

"Did you ever consider Itachi as a mate?" The tears stopped. _I knew that would stop her crying..._

"N-no! The both of us are exact opposites! I'm an ugly, wimpy kunoichi and he's a mean, (supposedly) hot demon lord!"

"So now you admit he's attractive?"

Hinata blushed. "I mean...he's not bad looking...but he's not an angel either."

"Sure, pup. Now was there anything you need to talk to me about?"

"Yes...why are you transformed into a human?"

Willow snorted. "I wanted a new look. If I'm going to be training a human, I might as well be one."

She cocked her head to one side and gently picked up Little Lavender. "What's this? It seems we have a visitor."

Hinata watched as the bird snuggled contentedly in the demon's palm. "Deidara gave her to me...she's named Little Lavender...although I might change her name since it's too long..."

"Huh. Adorable, isn't she? How did she get here?"

Hinata shrugged. "Maybe she appeared here with me because I was holding her while I was falling asleep..."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Really? Think you can bring me a steak, then? Haven't had one of those in years..."

"I'll see what I can do. Thank you Willow...you really helped me a lot." Willow nodded and transformed, turning back into a dog.

"Glad to help...and it's about time little shinobis go to bed," she said sternly, picking the bird up carefully in her mouth and dropping her on Hinata's shoulder. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow...and say hello to your boyfriend for me."

"He's not my boyfriend!" As darkness washed over her, she could hear the demon cackling evilly until the sound faded away.

Hinata sat up, the grass rustling beneath her. It was still nighttime, and the moon shone brightly on her face. Hearing a soft snore above her, she looked up to see Deidara still sleeping on his high tree branch, muttering occasional phrases like "Honey, put the knife DOWN!" and "Art is a bang, yeah!"

Hinata giggled quietly at the weird things he was saying. Yawning, she arched her back and stretched, then looked around for Itachi. She hadn't seen him for a few hours now. Placing Little Lavender next to her, she lay down on her side and stroked the sleeping bird's feathers distractedly. Knowing it would be a futile attempt, she tried to push him out of her mind.

That's easier said than done.

"It wasn't me, Officer. Yeah!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Itachi glanced at the kunoichi, lost in thought. If she had activated her byakugan, she would have found that he was less than ten feet away. They were separated by a thin line of bushes between them. The fact that he was hiding his chakra scent also aided in his concealment.

He wanted to make sure she didn't pull any stunts and try to leave, yet she somehow made no move to slip away. He watched as she threw head back in a luxurious stretch, noting the contrast the moonlight made when it shone on her hair.

He thought about her earlier conversation with Deidara. She had lied in front of him. Like she was unwilling to tell the blond ninja that he was the one who killed her beloved "brother."

It wasn't like he would kill her for telling Deidara. Although, Deidara may have figured it all out by now if he was paying attention.

The thing that nearly surprised him was the loathing glare she had given him earlier. As if she wanted to challenge him. She would have attacked him right then and there if Deidara hadn't distracted her.

_She wouldn't have gone far if she did, anyway._

He stood up and approached her silently. He stared down at her for a second, then sat down next to her. She looked at him warily out of the corner of her eye but said nothing. Itachi finally broke the silence.

"Can't sleep?"

"No, I'm awake because I want to be." Little Lavender woke up with an annoyed chirp. Glaring at Itachi, she fluttered into the tree and perched herself on Deidara's nose.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. She was rarely sarcastic. He narrowed his eyes. Instead of rebuking her he stretched out beside her and ignored her growing discomfort.

"Sunshine," he said rolling himself on his side. "Sulking doesn't help, you know."

"Hn."

"And if you don't sleep, I can't sleep." _The longer she stays awake, the longer I can't sleep. _

"Hn." Itachi smirked. She was starting to get into the habit of saying 'hn.' _Who on earth did she get that from? _

"So, Sunshine. Go. To. Sleep."

"Hn. When will you stop calling me Sunshine?"

"When I feel like it."

"..." She was still facing away from him. Her shoulders were tense; he could tell by the way they quivered slightly. _She's been acting different ever since this morning...she hardly even looks at me now...I wonder... _He slipped an arm firmly around her waist and pulled her closer.

He could feel the frustration coming off her in waves, but he didn't care. He had many ways to force people to do as he asked. Especially troublesome kunoichis with no sense...

Before kidnaping her, he had broken into the Hokage's office and read her ANBU profile. Leader had advised him to learn something about his future charge before taking her. Yes; he was interested in her as soon he read her profile. The only thing in her profile that aroused his curiosity in her was that one of her specialties was in suicide missions, which were among the most dangerous types given. If a shinobi was captured on this kind of mission, he either had to escape or kill himself. Suicide missions were usually reserved for older, retired ninja that preferred to die while on a mission. In other words, a ninja given this mission would inevitably die. And Sunshine came from every one of these missions alive, while the enemy shinobi reported killing her.

Suspicious, yes.

He thought of Hidan and Kakuzu, or, as Kisame called them, the Zombie Twins. It was virtually impossible to kill either them. He briefly thought of killing her and seeing what would happen, though he doubted Leader would approve of it.

While he was lost in his thoughts, Hinata was struggling(helplessly) to push his arm off her. Her attempt was so futile, he didn't even notice her struggling until she let out a an annoyed growl.

"_Sunshine..._if you _don't_ go to sleep I _will _be forced to do something nasty...and _you _don't want that, do you?"

"...I hate you..." she said quietly.

"Sure you do. Now how would you like it if I kill you right now?"

"...go ahead...save Konoha the trouble when they find me..."There was no trace of fear in her voice.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and pulled her closer so that her head was resting on his shoulder.

"Just sleep..."

"I can't."

Itachi knocked her on the back of her head.

"Now you can,"he smirked as she fell unconscious. (Dammit he's evil!)

_Now I can get some sleep... _Hinata squirmed in his arms, a little smile on her face..._She won't be smiling when she wakes up..._he thought as he fell asleep, tracing small circles on her back.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata woke up(again) and tried to remember her surroundings. She attempted sit up but found herself held down by some unknown force.

"He did it _again_!" She hated it when Itachi knocked her out.

"Where are you going?" A deep, quiet voice asked next to her ear.

She rolled her eyes. Of course. Itachi.

He released her.

Hinata stood up. "I need to go..."

"To the bathroom? There are none here, Sunshine," he teased.

Hinata stared. He had a serious expression on his face, like he expected her to just make a bathroom pop up out of nowhere.

"Um..."she tugged nervously at the bandanna around her neck.

"Do whatever you like. And be back in ten minutes or else I'm coming to get you."

"O-okay...please watch Little Lavender for me..." The chick was still sleeping on Deidara's nose.

"Just go." He said it a little more harshly than he intended, but she was already backing away.

She nodded and walked away, hugging herself.

Itachi watched her go, cursing himself for his attitude. _There I go again...I keep upsetting her..._

Finding nothing else to do, he listened to Deidara's snores. She was gone for five minutes now. He wondered if she ran into trouble...

But then, who would be stupid enough to attack her if he was nearby?

_Several people, now that I think about it..._

He rolled his eyes before fishing a pouch of kunai from his bag and walking to catch up with the kunoichi.

"Blame Weasel boy! He ate the last doughnut, yeah!"

Itachi glared at the sleeping Deidara. Picking up a rock, he lobbed it accurately at his head.

A muffled 'Ow, yeah' was heard from the blond's direction before he fell completely silent.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata wiped the sweat out of her eyes as she went further away from the Uchiha. She didn't know why, but it was as if he was determined to make her life a living hell.

_Actually, it already is...what is it with these Uchihas? So far as I'm concerned, they _**both** _are complete jerks...if Sasuke does find Itachi, I really won't care if they kill each other...heck, it would do the world some good..._

_But do I honestly feel that way?_

Hearing a rustle behind her she spun around to find the source of the sound. In the darkness she could just make out a pair of bright yellow eyes. Those eyes seemed familiar, yet she couldn't quite place them...

"Show yourself!" she ordered the unknown figure.

The creature stepped further out into moonlight, revealing a young, rather handsome-looking human head with cat ears and feline features. It's hair was long, dark and shaggy like a lion's. The rest of the body was that of a tiger's, with bright red fur and crimson wings. _The manticore..._

_Earth Technique! Ivy Infestation!_

She made several hand signs and winced as several thorned vines grew out of her palms. If she could poison the beast...

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," The manticore growled, exposing three rows of sharp teeth on it's lower jaw. "My master made me immune to poisons."

She didn't listen to it; the vines shot out and wrapped themselves around the manticore's neck. The manticore retaliated by ignoring the vines and pouncing on her. Instead of resisting she rolled with the impact and shoved the beast over her into the bushes.

The manticore fell with a loud grunt on to it's back and flipped itself over, growling. Then, opening it's deadly mouth it bit down on the vines around it's neck. Hinata gasped in pain as they severed and barely dodged a swipe that was meant to rip her throat out. The manticore smirked in triumph and crouched, an enormous paw stretched out in front of it in defense.

_Damn...this thing's fast! I need to slow it down...Great Mudslide! _

Hundreds of gallons of mud flew out of her mouth all over the manticore and the ground, making it slippery. The manticore tried to open it's wings to fly but to no avail; the mud made the feathers stick together.

"That's impressive, girl, but I am not here to fight,"the creature growled. "I have a proposal for you." It did the opposite though and reared onto it's hind legs, claws outstretched to tear into her.

"Don't want to hear it!"she shouted back, making more hand signs. _Dragons of earth..._

A large, dragon-like head and neck burst out of the ground. It was made entirely of vines, the long plants twisted and molded together to resemble the legendary creature. Another one burst out the ground, it's body as well as the other's hidden underground.

The first managed to clamp it's jaws around the manticore's neck while the other wound it's neck around the beast's body.

"That's enough!" A deep voice spoke out behind her. Hinata's eyes widened in hope. She turned around to face a pair of sharingan eyes. _Itachi!_

Behind her the manticore slipped out from under the grip of the dragons and pinned her to the ground. "I ought to kill you for that," It hissed in her ear. The dragons faded away, leaving her helpless.

She looked up at the Uchiha in confusion.His facial expression was lost in the dark._ Why isn't he helping me?_

"Itachi..." She gave him a pleading look.

He bent down brushed the hair out of her eyes. He was close enough for her to see the smirk on his face.

"I'm not Itachi."

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I'm soooo sorry for the late update, but really, this chapter was extremely hard to write. (Honestly I like my last chapter more than this one.) If I told you guys how many pages this is, you would probably stop reading the story. But I'll give you a hint. It's between 31 and 33 pages. Enough said.

As for those who read An Explosive Relationship, it will probably take another week to update. Although I can't really give you my word on that one.

I did say this chapter would have Sound Ninja and songs in it, but I decided to keep that for the next one. Sorry for that...

Thank you all for reading this, and (bows on hands and knees) I humbly apologize for being late(again). In fact, I find it a miracle that you all haven't hunted me down and killed me yet.

(Dammit, now I just jinxed it) Although now that I pointed that out, you guys really would try to hunt me down.

Sigh...

I nearly fainted when I saw all the reviews( I was so close to tears, honestly) so now I feel guilty for being late and...so...all I can say is...

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! EVEN THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T REVIEW!!!!!!(Hint Hint)

Your grateful friend who is star-crossed for an inevitable death by avid readers,

Narutochica :3

P.S. I'm making the chapters shorter from now on. Hopefully that'll make me update faster.


	17. Confrontation

**Confrontation**

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Hinata stopped struggling under the manticore's paw.

"What?" she asked. _But you have to be Itachi ..._

"I'm not Itachi," the man repeated. He looked at the manticore, who immediately released her.

She carefully got up and peered closely at his face. A face she hadn't seen in years...

"Sasuke! You're alive!" Without thinking she happily embraced her childhood friend. Being the heiress of a clan as important as the Hyuuga, she had usually played with Sasuke when Shisui and Itachi weren't around.

Instead of pushing her away Sasuke just smirked and let her hug him.

_I can't believe it...Sasuke is back...but what about Itachi? I hope they don't see each other...and what about Naruto?_

Hinata shoved herself away from Sasuke and glared at him. "Teme!" she slapped him sharply across the face.

Sasuke barely flinched. "Now what was that for?" he asked calmly. _She's the only one who can get away with doing that..._

"That was for leaving! Naruto's never been the same ever since you left!" She hissed, trying to keep her tears from falling. "None of us have been!" _I can't believe I was even happy to see this guy!_

"Hinata...that was Naruto's own fault for holding on to bonds that don't exist anymore. I severed my ties with him...there's nothing he can do now." Even without her byakugan, she could tell he was lying.

"Okay...fine then. What did you come here for? If it's to fight Itachi-"

Sasuke's head snapped up. "Itachi's close by? Did he hurt you? If he's here-"

Hinata stepped in front of him before he could go after his elder brother.

"Sasuke, now is _not _the time to fight. Please tell me why you're here."

Sasuke sighed. "Hn. Just as the dumb beast said, we have a proposal for you. From Orochimaru."

Behind her the manticore hissed, as if it hated being called a dumb beast.

Hinata stepped back. "I...I really am not interested in what he has to say..."

"Too bad. I still have to tell you."_Stubborn as always, Sasuke..._

"Go on..."

" Orochimaru knows about your 'talents.'He requests that you join him in the conquest of the shinobi countries."

"And? I-I don't want to do this, Sasuke...he's bad...h-he experiments on babies..." The manticore growled in an almost respectful way.

Sasuke's sharingan eyes flicked toward the manticore. "Shut up, beast."

He turned to her. "I know he did experiments on humans." The manticore growled. "He _still _does, but he's the one thing I need to gain power. Don't you want power for yourself?"

_Power...if Orochimaru makes me stronger...I can prove to the Hyuugas that I'm not weak..._

The manticore spoke up. "Master Orochimaru promises you any village of your choice...except the Leaf village. He and Master Sasuke here are still arguing over it." She noticed that it's words seemed rehearsed, as if it didn't want to say anything in the first place.

_I could be a Kage...but what is the use of having power if all it does is hurt others..._

"Hinata...I know you're considering it..." Sasuke smirked. _He looks like Itachi when he does that..._

She fiddled nervously with her fingers. "Um...I don't want to...I'd be betraying Konoha..."

Sasuke shrugged. "You are already doing that by going on a mission with my brother."

"I-I know! B-but..."

The younger Uchiha held up a hand. "Stop talking. Actually...it's also...a proposition."Even in the dark she could see his cheeks redden slightly.

Hinata froze, then instinctively stepped away from him, arms covering her chest. "A-and...in what context are you using that word.?"

"Both...Orochimaru said we would all benefit if you joined...and if...the two of us..."

"He wants to mate with you." The manticore said bluntly.

_WHAT THE - _Willow raged, apparently woken from her slumber.

"Wh-why? Sasuke...why?" Sasuke flinched at her helpless tone.

"Hinata...we both know I need to restore my clan...and you're the only person I can think of that I would do it with...and Orochimaru promises to make the Uchiha clan great once again." He stated, advancing toward her. She stepped back, still shocked at the words that came out of his mouth.

"Careful now," the beast growled under his breath so only his master could hear. "You're scaring the poor girl...she'll refuse you if you keep pressuring her!"

Sasuke ignored his summon's words and went on. "It's not like I love you or anything, I like you...but you're a _Hyuuga. _And a jinchuuriki, if what I hear is true. The qualities of both are what I want in a heir." _Although the jinchuuriki thing may just be a rumor...she lacks the facial marks, like Naruto's whiskers..._

Hinata closed her eyes and calmed her temper before speaking.

"Sasuke...I'm sure there are many girls in the Sound village that would appreciate doing you that little...service...and frankly, I'm not planning to have children at this moment...or any time soon!"

_If there's one thing I can't stand, it's children...I've never been good with kids..._

"I'll take full custody of the child...it would be out of your hands and you could do whatever you like after that."

Hinata nearly fainted at the ridiculousness of his words.

"And you expect me to carry a baby around for nine months, give birth, hand it over to you, leave, and just forget about it?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Or you could just stick around and be like my wife or whatever."

Hinata snapped and before she knew it found herself slamming the younger Uchiha hard into a tree. Sasuke stared calmly at her, a smirk making it's way across his face.

Just for that she dug her nails further into his arms.

"Listen, _Sasuke_, I've had enough of this. Father man only kept me just so I could be used as a breeding tool for you _stupid _Uchihas. So wise up and stay the hell away from me, hm?" she hissed, eyes turning dark.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but said nothing else. _This Hinata is different...it seems like that demon is influencing her attitude...and demons make people do crazy things..._

"All right, all right, but will you at least consider it?" _Look at that body...so that's what she's been hiding under her jackets...bloody hell... _He sniffed loudly, hoping to hide his oncoming nosebleed.

_I shouldn't think of her that way...she's way too innocent..._

_Hmph. You should let me have a go at him, _Willow hissed as her host released him.

"Hm, let me see...no." she said in a flat voice. "I don't believe having children just to pass on the Uchiha name is wise...or healthy for a child. Take my advice and fall in love _before _you think about children. And even then wait a few years. You're only nineteen!"

Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets. "Maybe your sister would be a better..." he trailed off, seeing the fury on the young Hyuuga's face.

"Good going," the manticore remarked. "Getting a jinchuuriki angry...that is one of the most stupid things you can ever do..."

"It...was a joke?" He whispered in a meek voice.

Hinata grinned menacingly, revealing sharper canines. "Good answer. And stay the hell away from my sister, right?"

"Yeah..." Sasuke sighed and crossed his arms. _Sooner or later she'll comply..._

Hinata visibly calmed down, though she felt worried on Hanabi's behalf. She wouldn't put it past Sasuke to go after her.

Sasuke watched her closely. He had no idea why, but she attracted him. Having had no feelings for her before, it was strange to see how much seeing her now had this new affect on him.

The manticore rolled his eyes. "Master Orochimaru has been kind enough to give you more time to think this through.

"And what if I don't agree to this?"

The manticore flicked a barbed tail. "I would be ordered to either execute you or kidnap you. Depends on what Master Orochimaru says." He(she decided it was a he) sounded almost regretful as he said this. _Is this another one of Orochimaru's experiments?_

Sasuke spun around walked away. "Itachi's coming and I want to train some more before I fight him. Let's go." He teleported away in a puff of smoke.

_What a pussy...he's just afraid of the weasel... _Willow said smugly, rolling on her back.

Hinata gasped as another scent wafted in the air. She recognized it as Itachi's. _Maybe having Willow inside me enhances my senses..._

The manticore padded away deeper into the forest. It seemed to be finished with her.

"Wait!"

He looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"W-were you...born like that?"The creature's big yellow eyes widened, as if it were surprised that someone spoke to him.

"...I was...improved..." Before she could say anything else he too disappeared.

Behind her she heard various plants and grasses being crushed as Itachi looked for her.

"Itachi?" she whispered hesitantly.

No answer. She waited several more minutes. Nothing. Then she caught a sudden trace of Itachi's scent.

Feeling his chakra close by, Hinata instinctively stepped back. That was when she bumped into something firm.

_Speak of the devil himself. Here's your man. _

_We're screwed. And he's _not _my man! _

_You're screwed, actually. _Came Willow's smug answer.

_Gee. Thanks._

"Um...Itachi..." she said weakly before turning around to face him. His eyes were narrowed, and his lips set in a thin, straight line. The fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt made him look even more scary.

_Wow, pup. Look at all those glorious muscles..._

_I think...I'm gonna faint...he's giving me the evil eye..._

If looks could kill, she'd have been dead long ago...(now that I think about it, Itachi's looks _can _kill)

"Trying to escape, were you? Or did you perhaps..._meet _someone here?" came his cold voice.

She slowly backed away from him, her mind racing frantically for a solution to cam him down.

"I...um...this isn't what it looks like..." she began lamely. _If it's not one Uchiha, it's another..._

"I don't know Sunshine...I can sense the chakra of shinobi besides the two of us..." For every step back she took, he paced forward, coming even closer. She felt her back scrape against the rough bark of a tree trunk.

Itachi, seeing that she was now trapped stood over her as she cowered against the trunk, one hand on either side of her head. His eyes, now tainted with the blood red of the sharingan gleamed cruelly at her. She shut her eyes as the elder Uchiha bent his head slightly to brush her neck with his lips.

"Sasuke was here."_How does he know?_

"He...um...well..." She could tell he was angry. Heck, the cold, heartless man didn't even try to hide his anger.

"His scent is on you. He touched you?" Something in his tone made her blood boil and she lashed out angrily.

"I don't think it's any of your business what I do with your brother! You _don't _have to drag me into this...this stupid war between you two."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "You're mine...in mind and body...don't ever forget that..."

_The hell?_

Hinata glared up at him. "You never told me that. And besides, _I _was the one who touched Sasuke. I hugged him. And I don't regret it. I told you before. I'm _not _your toy."

In one swift movement Itachi slammed his fist into the trunk, right next to her face. Dozens of leaves and pieces of bark showered down on the both of them. His eyes, which for a split second seemed to flash a vivid gold bored hatefully into hers, like he wanted nothing more than to just kill her in the most painful way possible. Without asking any more questions about Sasuke, he spun around and began walking at a fast pace back to where they made camp.

Hinata watched his retreating form, bewildered at his behavior.

_What the hell is his problem?_

_Eh. Dunno, pup. Maybe...nah, can't be._

_Maybe what?_

_Sorry pup, you're gonna have to figure him out on your own._

_Hm. I guess you're right._

Her gaze lingered on his back, noting the amount of sweat that made his rippling shoulder muscles

glisten in the moonlight. _I've never seen him sweat like that before...was he that worried about me? _She shook her head. No; Itachi _never _worried.

She noticed the way he held his head up high, the way his shoulders tensed, the way his back was stiff. He suddenly stopped walking and stood not too far from her, as if waiting for her to follow. He never even turned around. Just waited.

Hinata sighed and pushed herself off the trunk. As soon as he heard her quiet footsteps, he started walking again. _Why would he be so mad at me? I don't get it..._she stared harder at him. Itachi must have sensed her intense scrutiny for he seemed to stiffen more. She briefly wondered why he wore a necklace.

_I've never seen him like this before...why would he lose control? _Itachi wouldn't look at her. He didn't even turn his head sideways to investigate any of the sounds accompanied them through the night.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

_Willow...do you think he's maybe...jealous? _Now that she thought about it, Itachi always said his brother's name in a voice full of hate.

_Maybe...I guess you'll have to see for yourself..._Willow was pacing back and forth, around and around her tree. Hinata could sense that her demon was unable to go back to sleep. She felt a little guilty for that.

Itachi plowed ahead, uncaring as to the brutality with which he crushed the soft grass under his feet. Just the thought of _his _Hinata having a relationship with his younger brother infuriated him. _Why am I even calling her mine? She belongs to no one..._

A soft touch on his shoulder made him turn around. Hinata stepped back a few paces when he faced her, but she wore an almost determined expression on her face. Even so, she kicked at the ground as a nervous reaction to his cold, calculating expression.

"What?" he asked rather rudely.

"Um...I just w-wanted you to know...Sasuke and I didn't do anything...he only told me Orochimaru wanted me to join him...honest." Itachi only narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why are you telling me now?"

Hinata stepped closer. "I don't know why you hate the idea of me being near S-Sasuke. I-I don't know if it's because of your rivalry or not, but," she seemed to hesitate, then plunged right ahead with what she had to say. "You can't tell me what I can and can't do around him. Even if he is a teme."_Well, I do understand why he made his decision to leave...I can't blame him...I might've done the same...nevertheless, they are _both _temes..._

"Ah, but who is it in charge of you? If I can recall,"he bent down until his nose was inches away from hers. "I am, and no matter what you say, whoever has you in their mercy is whom you must obey." Of course he was lying through his teeth, but he couldn't help getting her mad. It was all for his own amusement, really.

"Y-you're wrong. I _don't _belong to Orochimaru, or the Akatsuki, a-and I'llprobably never belong to you _or _your brother either. I-I'm not some bit of property that you or anyone else can lay a claim to."

Itachi's blank expression was now an _almost _blank expression with a hint of amusement. _It's about time she stood up for herself...alas, it shall never work on me...what a baka..._

"Hn." he replied. _Is it me, or did she say 'probably never belong to me'? Now, why did she add a 'probably'? If she's even considering Sasuke as a possible hus..._ He decided not to finish that thought.

Hinata watched him anxiously. He would either shrug her words off, or rip her heart out for speaking against his beliefs. She honestly believed he would do the latter.

Instead of doing that, all he did was look down at her with cool, narrowed black eyes. Slightly pissed at the fact that he didn't seem to hear her words, she stared at her sandals. Almost immediately Itachi reached down and tipped her head up so they could see eye to eye. For once, his eyes seemed to hold so much emotion. There was a certain...longing in them. As if he desired something that was out of his reach.

_But what could a man as strong as him want? More power? Or maybe...a companion?_ _I highly doubt he would want someone to give his heart to. He seems more bent on power than on love..._

_Do you not want to give your heart to someone you love?_

_What are you getting at, Houkou?_

_Nothing, nothing, _the demon said meekly. _And my name is Willow now._

"I already have proof you're my property," he said quietly.

"Where is this proof?" she whispered. He bent down until his cheek was brushing against hers, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"It's on your neck." With that he spun around and resumed walking, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a pouch, which no doubt contained kunai and shuriken.

Perplexed, Hinata removed the bandanna from her neck and looked near her shoulder. Nothing, except for the scar from the hickey Itachi had...er..._bitten_...there over a week ago, the night before he left on his last mission.

_Oh yeah, wasn't that the same night you two-_

_Waah! Don't remind me of that!_

A low, evil snicker could be heard in the back of her mind. _I wonder what would happen if I give her chocolate? _Hinata thought evilly while examining the hickey. (Note: Feeding dogs chocolate can kill them, so _don't _try that at home!)

It was then that she noticed how the scar seemed to look like an upside-down kanji.(She's looking down at it, so from her angle it looks upside-down) She squinted her eyes, trying to decipher what it would say if it were right side-up. The moment it dawned on her what the kanji represented, she fought an urge to throw a dozen kunai at the Uchiha.

_That...that teme bit his name into my neck!_

_Aha! He wants you! Yes! In the wild, before mating, many male animals, like wolves, like to gently nip their female mates as an act of possessiveness and fore- _

_Willow. Not. Another. Word._

_Heh heh heh..._

Itachi continued walking, wondering how long it would take before the inevitable explosion. He decided to count down.

_Three..._

He could hear the young woman's sharp exclamation of shock and anger.

_Two..._

Total silence. He could sense her seething in rage. A smirk tugged at his lips.

_One..._

"Itachi! Why!?" She caught up to him and, in a fit of blind rage began to strike him across his shoulders.

Itachi let out a quiet, deep chuckle, the closest thing to a laugh she had ever heard come out of his mouth. Just hearing it made her heart beat faster. She made her blush disappear as fast as she could.

"Is that proof enough for you?" He smirked, and Hinata instantly knew that he was barely feeling the blows.

"I _really _hate you now!" She shot back. Itachi's smirk turned into one of mischief. Ignoring her protests, he threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continued walking back to camp.

"Itaachiii..." she whined, pounding on his bare back with balled fists. She had the distinct feeling he was enjoying this.

"Quiet, Sunshine." Itachi said in his monotone. _What a little fool...I should have kidnaped her a long time ago...she really is a reliable source of entertainment..._

The irate kunoichi did as he ordered, grumbling a little under her breath. She could faintly smell Itachi's shampoo.

_Mmm...peaches and vanilla scented... _Willow murmured, earning a silent giggle on Hinata's part.

When they got back to camp it was already almost morning.

"There's no point in us going back to sleep," Itachi said dropping her on the ground.

_Ow ow ow..._ she thought as she landed with a 'thump' on her rear. _Stupid Uchihas..._

Deidara was already up, staring at the sky. When he saw how Itachi was carrying her, he couldn't stop smirking. _Those two are the biggest bakas I'll ever meet...at this rate it'll be years before they admit to having feelings for each other...still, they do look cute together...not that Itachi's particularly cute...but then, I'm a guy so...aw whatever, yeah! _

They stayed there another hour to eat breakfast, then went on with their journey. They only ran for two hours before they arrived at the town they were going to stay at. As soon as Hinata set foot in it she knew it was a shady area.

Prostitutes were lurking around corners in broad daylight, men in long coats were exchanging suspicious-looking plastic bags (which no doubt contained the popular drug opium) and there were very few children in the streets.

Deidara draped his robe over Hinata before she could protest.

"You don't want to catch attention, yeah. The way you're dressed right now, the whore mongers will be keeping a close eye on you." He shot a fierce glare at some older teens who had been staring at the kunoichi.

Hinata nodded and put the robe on. His words were true; she knew that in areas where prostitution was a way of getting money, a man wouldn't hesitate to kidnap a nice-looking woman _or _girl to whore out. She remembered going on a solo mission to rescue a child who had the misfortune of being kidnaped by one such man. The delicate ten year old was rescued safe and sound, while her kidnaper was sent to prison. _And it was too soft a punishment as well...ten years in jail..._

Little Lavender, who was perched on her shoulder peeped and gently bit her ear. Hinata instantly knew the gesture meant "I'm hungry again, and since you're my new mommy you must feed me."

"Be patient. I'll give you something to eat soon." She whispered to the bird.

Little Lavendar chirped imperiously and gave her cheek a hard jab before turning away in anger.

"Hey, Miss," a middle-aged man with a few missing teeth sauntered up to her. "The bird for sale?"

"No." she said firmly. "I'm not selling her."

"Aw, come on. We could go over to my place and negotiate."

Before the man could lay a hand on her Itachi shoved him to the ground.

"Don't even talk to them," he murmured to Hinata before treading on the man's back. The man let out an audible wheeze of pain as Itachi walked over him and continued to lead the way.

_I guess even animals that look unusual are valuable here as well, _She thought, making sure to keep a closer eye on her pet.

Itachi whispered something to Deidara then walked ahead.

"Where's he going?"

"He's checking the area around the hotel for spies or enemy ninja. We'll need to stay in one since the mission will be three or four days, yeah." Deidara answered.

"Oh. Um...what exactly will I be doing in this mission? Itachi said something about getting valuable information...but...how?"

Deidara's visible eye widened.

"Er...well...Itachi's the one who should be telling you...since he's leader, yeah." He looked nervous.

"R-right." They walked in silence for a few moments. Morada, who had been missing for quite some time landed on Deidara's head.

"Ow! Morada, stop digging your claws in, un." Morada let out an apologetic chirp and settled down in Deidara's hair like a hen.

As they walked along, Hinata noticed that many of the buildings were nightclubs and bars. She frowned, realizing her mission might have to do with such places.

_And if Deidara's too nervous to tell me, then it isn't something I'll like..._

When they got to the hotel Itachi was already standing outside it, looking _very _out of place there.

"Deidara,"he said addressing the blond. "You check in first. Just in case we're being watched inside."

Deidara nodded and went in. Hinata wondered if he remembered that Morada was still on his head.

After a few minutes they walked in, making sure that Deidara had checked in and was gone from the counter. As soon as they got to the check-in counter the attendant(an older male with a nice accent)

broke into a huge grin when he saw them.

"Huh, what's this? A couple of kids on their honeymoon, eh? You folks is the first normal ones I seen in a while. Heck, a guy(or was it a girl?) with a chicken on his head just checked in." Hinata blushed several shades of red. She couldn't help hiding her face in the sleeve of Deidara's robe.

"Um..." _I think being married to Itachi would be scary...and life-threatening..._

"Aw, the little woman's kinda shy, ne?" Itachi slipped an arm around her waist and held her closer to him.

"Ah, yes, this is her first time out of her village. Right, Sunshine?" _What!? Now he's playing along? I bet he's doing this just to get a cheaper room..._

"Um...yes, honey..." She squeaked, her face still red. Itachi raised an eyebrow. _Honey? Where the hell did that come from? _He seemed to be saying.

She gave him a look that he knew translated to _I couldn't think of anything else, teme..._

Itachi's eyes flashed red at her for a second. _What did you call me?_

Hinata looked away. _Nothing..._

The attendant chuckled. "Cute wife you got there." He picked up a room key from a wall and handed it to Itachi.

"I think you kids would be nice an' cozy in this here honeymoon suite. An' don't worry." He winked. "You get half off, just for you two. Now run along."

Itachi grabbed her hand and headed for the stairway. "Well, _wifey, _what do you want to do next?"

At the word wifeyHinata tripped over the top step and sprawled on the thick red carpet.

"_W-wifey?_" She spluttered, spitting out lumps of carpet fibers. "Don't tell me..."

Itachi shrugged. "Apparently, honeymoon suites are cheaper here. It's better if we act like we're married. If you don't like it, maybe Deidara would be nice enough to let you stay in his room."

"Okay, I'll go ask him-"

"Nice try, Sunshine. You're stuck with me." Itachi picked her up bridal style and continued walking to their suite. When they got there, he dumped her (once again) on the floor and opened the door.

The second Hinata lay eyes on it she nearly fainted. The room was _hot pink_, with a plushy red carpet and heart-shaped lamps.

_Willow...I have a very bad feeling about this..._

_Whoa...now that is a whole lot of pink going on over there..._

_Oh my...this is the most unromantic, and ugliest room I've ever seen... I'm scared..._

_How does the bed look?_

She nearly laughed when she saw it. It was a regular double bed with blue sheets, looking so out of place in the "pink palace suite", as she decided to call it.

Itachi was busy unpacking his clothes and putting them inside a dresser. He didn't seem to notice how ridiculous the room looked; in fact, he hardly even glanced at the bed. Little Lavender flew to the dresser and peeked over the edge. Before Hinata could do anything, the little bird flipped right over the edge and fell inside Itachi's open drawer. When she struggled out of the clothes and peeped happily at Itachi, Hinata couldn't help but smile.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I think there's something here that belongs to you," he said and went to look out the window. _I can't stand looking at cute things. Especially birds..._(Then why is he not looking at Hinata?)

Noticing a small wrapped gift basket on the bathroom counter, she left the troublesome chick to explore the wonders of Itachi's underwear and investigated. It was wooden, with a pinkish wrap over it and a pattern of tiny hearts running along the handle. It was cute, she had to admit. Being naturally curious, she peeked through the plastic wrap to see the contents.

Hmm...roses, chocolates, stuffed teddy bear, condoms, a packet of coffee...whoa, hold up, _condoms? _

As unwanted images of her and Itachi appeared in her mind, the demon lord himself walked into the room, noticing immediately the kunoichi's red face.

"Sunshine? What did you do now?"

"U-um...n-nothing..." she tore her gaze away from the basket and walked hurriedly out of the bathroom. An eyebrow raised in amusement, he took a look at the basket and at once realized what was bothering her.

When he came out, the young Hyuuga was staring out the wide window, fiddling with her fingers. Her face was still red.

"Sunshine..." he said quietly.

No answer.

"Sunshine."

Still no answer.

Itachi thought for a second, then got up and walked to the bathroom. He reached into the basket and pulled out the teddy bear.

Hinata still hadn't moved when he came back. Taking careful aim, he threw the teddy bear so that it smacked her right in the back of her head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" She cried, turning around to fix him with a glare. Unfortunately for her, unlike Itachi's, Hinata's glares were so harmless even a worm would laugh at her attempt to look intimidating.

To Itachi, it almost looked cute. Almost.

"It's your own fault for not paying attention. What kind of kunoichi zones out like that, hm?"

She rolled her eyes and tried to get rid of the remnants of her blush. "You didn't have to throw the teddy bear at me." she pointed out.

"Why? Would you have preferred that I throw the condoms at you?" he replied with a straight face.

That did it. All attempts to stop blushing failed, and the redness came back brighter than ever. With a little squeak she darted under a thick blanket to hide her face. Not that it mattered; the demon lord already saw. _I can't believe he said that...this guy is evil in it's purest form..._

Itachi smirked as he watched the blanket-covered lump on the bed that was Hinata. His black eyes narrowed in mirth as an idea sprang to mind.

Hinata held her breath and kept a tight grip on the blanket over her head. _Maybe if I stay still and be reeaally quiet, Itachi would get bored and stop tormenting me..._

Just as that idea made itself known in her head, she felt the mattress lower slightly as another, heavier weight got on the bed.

_It's all right, Hinata...all he wants to do is lie down, right?_ She thought to herself.

Through the blanket, she could feel a hand travel up from her thigh to rest on her waist.

_Oh yeah, pup. That's right. All he wants to do is lie down, right?_

_Shut up, Houkou._

_Make me, Hyuuga._

Then, there was his voice so close to her ear.

"What's wrong, Sunshine? I thought you wanted this...or will you deny it, just like you've always done?"

Letting out a little "eep" noise, she curled into a ball.

"You know...we could take it nice and slow...I'll be gentle this time...just for you..." Itachi made sure he sounded sultry and seductive. He smirked as he sensed her heartbeat quicken.

"Um...um..."She stiffened when she felt him move so close her back was against his warm chest.

"How do you like it? Fast? Long? Or both?" He hugged her tightly through the blanket.

His efforts were rewarded when he heard several helpless whimpers erupt from the blanket-covered Hinata. He knew it wasn't fair to make fun of her, but he couldn't help it. It was all too amusing.

"Man, Itachi, stop terrorizing her, yeah."

Hinata yanked the blanket off her and turned around to see Deidara, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Itachi sat up and crossed his arms. "Hn. She was asking for it." He knew Deidara was watching the entire time. The blond could tell without asking that Itachi wasn't serious in his actions.

Hinata blushed and looked away from the Uchiha, who smirked at her.

Deidara ruffled her hair. "Don't feel bad. Itachi's always doing things like that, yeah." He glanced nervously at the Uchiha. "Did you tell her what she has to do yet?"

"Wh-what do I have to do?"

Itachi turned to her. "For this mission, you have to act like a prostitute."

_**What the hell did he say? Oh, hell no! Pup, I'm coming out and I'm gonna give this teme the ass-whupping he de-**_

_Willow! Let's wait and hear the rest of this...though I already don't like it..._

_**...But you' re a minor! A puppy! Eighteen is too young for this...**_

_It's the way it is for kunoichi, Willow...we all have to do this eventually..._

_**Hmph. Fine...but I'm holding a meeting in a few minutes so hurry it up! **_Willow sounded very much aggrieved.

Itachi watched her expression closely. She seemed to staring into space for a few seconds, then shook her head sharply and directed her gaze back at them.

_She wasn't talking to her demon...was she? No...she can't possibly know..._

"I won't do it."

"What do you mean?"Itachi asked sharply.

"I mean that I'm _not _going to be-"

Itachi sighed. "It's not that big a deal. We decided on a bargain with a man who deals in prostitution. He knows the whereabouts of certain people we need to find."

Hinata eyed him warily. "What sort of people?"

Deidara flashed Itachi a swift glance. Itachi's eyes barely flickered to him.

"The kind of people that align themselves with the Akatsuki, then attempt to betray us." Hinata noticed he didn't look her in the eyes, as if he didn't want her to read his mind.

_**He's hiding something...**_

"So," she said, forcing herself to stop stuttering. "When do I meet this guy?"

"Tomorrow, un." Deidara answered. "We don't want you to _do _anything with him, just show up at his place and perform for him, yeah. If he likes you, he'll give us the information and we'll 'give' you to him. Of course, we'll already be gone before he gets his hands on you."

"Um...but why me for the mission? Isn't there a female Akatsuki who can do this?"

"Yeah. But since she's 'friendly' with Leader, I don't think he would like that idea, yeah. Besides, this guy likes girls with specific qualities, qualities that you have."

"And what are they?"

"Well," said Itachi. "Your lavender eyes, and your bluish hair. He wants a woman with unusual facial characteristics."

Hinata shrugged. "So? There are over a hundred other people with my eyes. It's a family trait."

"That may be so, but your eyes have a tiny amount of blue, yeah. No other Hyuuga has eyes like yours." She glanced at Deidara.

"Really?" She looked at herself in the mirror. He was right; there was only the faintest amount of light blue thinly outlining the lavender, which only became visible if she tilted her head to the side. And even then, it was barely noticeable. _I never saw that before...I wonder if I got it from Mom...maybe Hanabi has it too..._

"It's obvious. You're not a "pure" Hyuuga." Deidara said almost approvingly. "Right?"

"Y-yeah." _And frankly, I'm glad I'm not pure. I was never into the whole incest thing...and neither was Neji..._

"The second quality is your talent in the arts. Instrumental and vocal. And dancing, but I've never seen you dance before, yeah."Deidara turned to Itachi. "What was the third thing?"

"Hn. The third thing is your shyness."

"Huh?" _My shyness? Oh no..._

"Yeah, Sunshine. He likes to recruit women who _don't _act like whores. Mainly younger, innocent ones like you."

She swallowed. "You mean...his prostitutes are like geishas...except without the kimonos and face paint...is there anything else?"

Deidara averted his eyes. " Yeah...er...he likes girls that are a bit..._large_...in the...bosom department, yeah."

"Huh?"

The blond ninja turned red and faced Itachi. "Um...Itachi? Can you tell her, yeah?"

"He likes girls with big...breasts..." Itachi smirked inwardly when he saw the priceless expression on the Hyuuga's face. One eye twitching, the other wide and unmoving. Her jaw was halfway to the floor, and she clutched the blanket closer to her chest. Deidara took out his camera and snapped a quick picture, which snapped her out of her shock.

_Damn...they noticed...oh dear...what have I gotten myself into? I should have worn a tighter bra!_

_**Hh. You know, I would be satisfied if you just gave me five minutes of freedom...I'll help you hide the bodies later...**_

"Oh Kami..." Before she could faint Deidara rapped her sharply on the head.

"Ow...guess I needed that," she mumbled, walking to the dresser and fishing a sleeping Little Lavender out of one of Itachi's socks.

"No need to think about that right now, un. Why don't we go look around the place, yeah? I heard there was a casino and bar in here." He grinned mischievously.

Hinata smiled shyly at him. "I-it's all right. I-I need to sleep right now..."

The blond shrugged. "Okay, un. Itachi?"

"Hn." He grabbed his cloak and followed him out, barely shooting a glance at the girl.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Willow, I'm here," Hinata said as she arrived at her demon's tree. "What did you want to do with me today?"

The said demon's head poked out of the tree. "_**Ah. You've arrived.**_" She padded down and stood in front of her host. "Have you ever wondered what this place is?"

Hinata nodded. "Isn't it a part of my mind?"

Willow laughed. "_**No, that's for Yoko and his host. Hinata, we are in the demon world.**__"_

"Wh-what?"

"_**Yes. I may have been imprisoned from the real world, but it doesn't mean I have to be cut off from the spirit world either.**__"_

"So...does that mean you brought my spirit to the demon world?"

"_**Yep! But that's not what is important right now. Right now, there are some new techniques I want to teach you.**__"_

"Really? What kind?" Hinata felt excited. Not everyone had the opportunity to be taught by one of the strongest demons.

"_**Well, I see that you've already learned one of the rebirth jutsus, so we can skip that. Today we'll be talking about**__**your transformation stages. Anything you want to ask me before I begin?**__"_

"Um..." Hinata didn't know how to start. There was something strange about her demon's eyes that bothered her. It was only whenever she transformed into a human that they seemed normal. Willow's eyes were completely black, with no sign of any pupils.

"Um...your eyes...there's something strange about them." She flinched, expecting her to break her in half.

"_**Hmph. It's about time you asked. You see, pup, early on in life I lost my eyesight in an attack. It's a common problem, being the runt of the litter...back then my eyes were blue.**_"

"Oh...I didn't mean to be rude about it..." Now she felt guilty for asking in the first place.

"_**No, it's a good thing you asked. Because this will become very important in later training. Look into my eyes**_." Hinata stared into the demon's eyes, slightly unnerved at the fact that she couldn't see her.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Then, as if out of nowhere, tiny white specks appeared and spiraled slowly around the edges of her eyes, like stars at night.

"W-Willow...what is..."

"_**Just keep watching**_" At that precise second a moon-like pupil appeared in each, glowing brightly against the black interior. With a jolt, Hinata realized it _was _the moon, and the white specks were stars, arranged in a helix like the milky way and surrounding it.

_So...pretty..._ She thought as she gazed dreamily into the demon's eyes. _And...beautiful..._

The more she stared at the gently whirling stars, the more she felt herself become sleepy.

_Oooh...star light...star bright...moonlight...cinnamon buns...yeah... _She hardly noticed she was thinking random, nonsensical words.

Five minutes later she felt a claw prodding itself rather sharply into her ribs.

"Mmm...all right, all right, I'm up!" She opened her eyes to see Willow standing over her, grinning in the way only a dog could.

"Wh-what did you _do _to me?"

Willow gave her a smug look. "_**I used a genjutsu to make you fall asleep. Although, it was more like hypnosis.**_"

Hinata sat up, rubbing her head. "But...what did you do to your eyes?"

Willow shrugged. "_**I don't know exactly how, but I regained my eyesight just after my mother died. You see, my species is called houkou**_"

"There are more of you?"

"_**Not really. If more demon dogs actually went to the trouble of training hard and gaining tails, there would be more of us. Only a few houkous are left. Now, the most powerful of us is given the actual name Houkou. Kinda like the other demons, for example Yoko, or my old buddy Nekomata, the two tailed cat. Get it now?**_"

"Um, yeah..."_Who on earth is Yoko?_

"_**Anyway, my mother was named Houkou before me, and she was somehow powerful enough to control the stars. I, however, was mauled and blinded by another demon when I was barely six hundred years old. As such, in the last few years of her life she worked hard trying to regain my eyesight. Then, she finally figured it out. As she lay dying, she transferred the rest of her powers to me, and just like that, I was able to activate my eyes whenever I wanted. But I was always comfortable blind, so I only use them while fighting. I think she purposely made my eyes to resemble the stars and moon as a little farewell present to me.**_"

"Oh..."Hinata murmured numbly. Now she wished very dearly she hadn't brought up the subject at all, for her demon was looking slightly depressed.

"_**But! If you go far enough in training you may eventually be able to use these eyes. They're pretty similar to the Mangekyou, but...I don't know which is stronger.**_"

"The _Mangekyou? _I thought that was the strongest doujutsu ever made..."

"_**Ha! Shows how much know you know about the world outside the shinobi villages. Once we're out of this mess, I'm going to show you everything you missed out on, pup. The sights, the sounds, even villages over a million miles away. How's that sound?**_"

Hinata smiled. She had to admit it; the idea sounded tempting to her. Traveling with the demon was something she looked forward to. "Yeah...why not?"

Willow grunted in satisfaction. "_**Perfect. Now, I can sense your anxiety from over here. Something else bothering you? You don't smell right...at the moment.**_" She finished, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Er...yeah. I know you probably wouldn't know how to help me, but..." She blushed.. "My period...is over a week late..."

Willow's stellar eyes widened. "_**WHAT?**_" She spun around and began pacing back and forth. "_**Shit shit dammit...no way...there's no way...oh my...**_" She nervously turned her head to look back at her host. "_**A-anything else weird going on?**_"

Hinata stared at her, stunned. This was the first time she had ever seen the demon freak out. It scared her.

"Um...the other day...I was sliding down a tree when...my fingers suddenly stuck to the trunk...and when I looked at them...I had...claws..." Willow sat down, face darkened in thought.

"_**Come here,**_" she ordered in a low voice. "_**And hold out your hand.**_"

Hinata did as she asked. As soon as she held out her hand the demon took it in a hand-like paw and turned it over. Suddenly, and without warning she pinched one of her fingers and let out a yelp of surprise when a small, centimeter long claw popped out from a slit in the middle of it.

"_**So it's true,**_" she murmured to herself, tapping it with an unsheathed claw. "_**And I thought Yoko was lying...damn.**_"

"Who's Yoko?" Hinata asked, feeling too scared to ask what Willow was talking about.

"_**Oh, he's just my idiotic father. He got sealed inside some poor fool nearly two decades ago.**_" She answered dismissively. "_**Heh. Me and Nekomata nearly got killed when we challenged him to a fight. He's like the strongest out of all of us.**_"

"Okay..." Hinata said slowly. "So... do you know what's going on with my body?"

"_**Er...yes and no...**_"

"What do you mean yes and no?"

Willow grinned. "_**Well, in regards to the period problem...dogs don't have periods. For us, it's called heat.**_"

"And what, pray tell, is heat?"

"_**You seriously don't know?**_"

"No." She shrank back when she saw the evil glint in the demon's starry eyes.

"_**All I can say is, you will bleed a little every six months...and, you'll probably end up getting pregnant if you don't avoid the guys for a while.**_"

"No...you don't mean..."

"_**That's right, pup. If you don't be careful, you may lose control and attempt to mate with any guy within your reach.**_"

"I-Itachi!?"

"_**Most likely. The worst part is you wouldn't know what you are doing. Only lust would control your body at that point.**_"

"B-but...my period..." She began to feel light-headed.

Willow shook her head. "_**Gone, kiddo. You should be happy. From what I've heard, it's not something particularly enjoyable for you humans.**_"

"B-but...what if I _do _lose control? I _don't _want any children..."

Willow shrugged. _"__**Well, you better hope that happens when you're around Itachi or Deidara. They seem above taking advantage of you. The only kind of men who will always take advantage of you are other jinchuuriki. As a female, you will release an aroma that only other jinchuuriki can smell. And that will drive them mad and force them to mate with you. But hopefully, we won't have to worry about that. I doubt there are any others around...**__"_

"Th-then what about when I'm not in heat?"

Willow smirked, eyes less bright than before. _"__**That's the good part. You see, female dogs get very aggressive if males try to mate with them. In your case...you'd probably end up attacking every single man that flirts with you.**__"_

Hinata groaned. "_Can things get any worse?_"

"_**Yes they can, actually**_" Willow tipped her head to the side and casually scratched an ear with her hind leg. "_**During heat, your attitude against other females will be of a hostile nature. It's possible you could kill someone in that state. In fact, even now you pose a danger to me.**_"

Hinata's head shot up. "How? I know you can take control of me any time you want...(I think you did it before)...so how can I hurt you?"

Willow began grooming her tails, trying to still the sudden spasms that rippled through them. "_**The problem**_**,"**she thought between licks. **"**_**Is that I'm different from other dogs. Very rarely do I lose myself and lash out. You, on the other hand don't have that control, being human and therefore inferior...**_**" **She ignored Hinata's annoyed sigh. **"**_**And seeing as how I'm female, you will soon take every opportunity to attack me, and if I defend myself, I may accidentally kill you**_"

She abruptly stopped when she saw the frustrated look in her host's eyes.

"_**Oi, don't go teary on me now, pup. It's all a part of growing up, so you might as well get used to it!**__"_

"Hn..."

Willow growled and clapped a paw over her eyes in anger. _I'm not getting anywhere with this kid today...hmph. I'll just train her to death to make up for it. _She staggered and scrambled quickly to regain her footing.

"_**On second thought,**__" _She continued to speak telepathically, but in a much more weary voice. _"__**We'll start our training in a few days, seeing as how you're not in the condition for any workouts...**__"_Willow turned away and began to limp back to her tree, tails dragging, and her head hung low.

"But-" The demon turned her head slightly to glance back one last time.

"_**Goodbye, Hinata...**__" _

"Willow, wait!"

The last thing she beheld as darkness swallowed her up was the sight of her demon's legs buckling before she collapsed heavily on the grass, a thin trail of blood leaking out the side of her muzzle.

"Willow!" She screamed over and over again, but to no use. She was back in her own world now, and try as she might, she couldn't concentrate enough to connect with her demon's mind.

_I should have left her in peace the whole time...maybe just talking to her takes up all her energy...she's probably old and senile...and I just added to her own problems..._

Little Lavendar flew over and nuzzled under her chin.

"Thanks," she murmured absentmindedly.

_What now? I'm only killing us, the longer I stay with the Akatsuki..._

Turning her head to the window, she caught sight of a small reddish cat scratching at her window. Pulling it open, she allowed the feline to slip in and jump on to the bed.

"Where did you come from?" She asked with a tired smile.

The cat mewled once and fixed her with an almost intelligent gaze. It's fur pattern was odd. It had golden- red fur, and big yellow eyes. It's tail was unusually long, and there was a scarlet spot on each shoulder. There was something familiar about this cat's eyes, although she couldn't name it. If it was even a cat at all. _That _thought managed to strike some fear into her heart, and that fear grew the longer she stared at it.

An inner instinct told her that this creature, this cat, for some reason did not belong. Her best chance would be to kill it right away, but she didn't have the heart to do that.

Hinata shrugged and lay down on the bed again, shivers running up and down her spine. The creature was observing her with those intelligent eyes, and that fact was enough to scare her. She nearly gasped when the cat(?) padded over and curled up next her, a satisfied look on it's face.

The second it yawned she knew that it was no cat at all, but an intruder that needed to be gotten rid of. It's teeth were all canines, and each tooth was at least an inch and a half long. Judging by the amount there were, there were more than twenty.

Swallowing her fear, she closed her eyes and prayed for Itachi to return.

She had unknowingly set a monster on herself.

"What will I do now?" She whispered to herself, tears running down her cheeks.

_Yes, my dear, _the manticore thought to itself. _What will you do?_

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

First of all, I want to say how sorry I am that it took me this long to update. The writer's block I went through is so bad it's not even funny. First of all, I want to clear up a few things. 1) I'm not quitting this story, for I'm planning a sequel and 2) I only started a new story because I had nothing better to do when I had problem with this one.

After the next two chapters, this story will turn more dark, then afterwards will be the sequel. I'm also changing my writing style, since it's too messy in this story and after seeing how much better it is in Mirage, I'll put more of an effort into later chapters. As for Sasuke and Itachi's fight, I'll leave that for later chapters...

Also, in case you haven't noticed, all fifteen year olds must go to school, so unfortunately, school's going to delay my writing...sigh...

Well, at least I update my stories instead of disappearing for years at a time, right? Anyway, once I have everything in order, the story will go as smoothly as planned.

Once again, I apologize for being so late and I hope you'll forgive me sometime in the near future...

Sincerely,

Narutochica TT

Note: Manticores were thought to be real when the remains of humans were found in the forests of India and Bangladesh. However, it was found that it was the Bengal Tiger that was responsible for the killings. (Man Ticor, Man Tiger, see the connection?)


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